A Twisted Fairytale: Second Edition
by NakanoHana
Summary: Redone! The death of his father, the betrayal of his friend, and a conniving tyrant with a talent for magic! All of these Roxas must face before he can ascend his throne! Fortunately, he doesn't have to stand alone. rated for language only. r&r plz. Based loosely on Snow White
1. Chapter 1

Now a lot of you may be wondering: why the heck are you posting an old story? Well, my friends, as if I didn't have enough stuff to do, I think I'm just a masochist that loves tormenting herself with more stuff to do and giving people more reasons to yell at me to finish old things. TwT

But really, this is for fun. I wrote this, my first real story, last year during final exams. And I mean, ALL THROUGH FINALS. Really I should have been focusing on those damn things instead of writing this crap, but that's me. It's not that I can't focus persay, but sort of that once I get focused on something, everything else becomes background noise a little bit. Anyway, because I wrote this during finals, and I was a newbie, it's vastly different than my other stuff. And, because I have a nasty habit of editing even when stuff has already been posted, I thought, "Hey, why not post this as a new story? It can serve as comparison for how much I've grown in the past year, and that way people can choose which version they like better." This version will be a bit different, of course. Don't expect a complete copy of the old story. I'm simply taking what I've learned from myself and others and seeing how this will be different, or similar, to what I wrote as a freshmen. I'm still working on many things as always, I've just been suffering a severe case of writer's block for a little while. Blame the writing staff...oh wait, that's me...TwT

And I have no beta. wah...

P.S. I don't own kingdom hearts or disney or brothers grimm or anything like that! :)

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Prologue:

Once upon a time, in a faraway land, there was a beautiful and glorious kingdom. It was a peaceful place and had been for many years, full of beautiful cities and towns built with ancient stones and magics. It was blessed with deep forests surrounding the borders and a pure, glistening river that ran through the very heart of the capitol. But despite the magics and the honest, brave men who defended her, the kingdom was protected best by one lone, powerful spell.

In the center of the kingdom, enshrined in the courtyard garden of the castle, stood a magnificent key embedded in a small pedestal. But this was no ordinary key. No, it also served as a sword for its ruler in times of need, and was a symbol of everything that was good and of light in the land.

It was the kingdom's coronation ritual that only a person who could pull the keyblade from its pedestal would become the next king. But the key would only choose one with a kind and righteous heart to rule; a device set in place by the gods to protect the land and its people. Noble blood was not an issue.

The current chosen ruler was the great King Cloud Strife, a man of strong value and courage. He cultivated the land with a firm hand, as the farmer does to plant the seeds for the coming year, and the people looked to him for guidance and care.

It was during this peaceful time that the king's only son, Roxas, was born. The boy was the spitting image of his father, and as he grew, he proved to have a kind, gentle nature as well. He wanted to learn things and see the world, and the king was very happy to indulge his curiosity. The two of them easily mingled with the people, and thus, as the years passed, Roxas Strife grew to love and cherish his home, hoping to someday ascend the throne and follow in his father's footsteps.

There were high hopes for the child until one night, when everything began to change.

It was the night of Roxas's 9th birthday when a mysterious man appeared at the castle, calling himself Lord Vexen. The soldiers had discovered him unconscious in the gardens, and Cloud, being the caring person that he was, personally stayed with him to help him recover. The night's festivities were put aside, much to Roxas's disappointment, but the old man's health soon improved, and within a short period of time, he became very close to Cloud. He had quite a knowledge of spells as well as sciences, and he shared this with the king, who was very impressed. So then, as soon as he was able to publicly, Cloud made Vexen his royal confidant; his advisor in all matters pertaining to the wealth and health of the kingdom.

And as Cloud became more occupied with his work, Roxas was pushed further and further out of the light. The boy understood the importance of his father's work, of course; but he was quite upset when that led to long periods of solitude. He was not yet old enough to attend the court meetings, and he never seemed to catch Cloud's attention for very long after the meetings were over. He was lonely; he missed traveling to the villages and seeing the friends he'd made there, or even just going to the festivals with Cloud.

So ultimately, the little prince wandered the castle wistfully, looking for things to occupy his time and waiting for the time when Cloud would return and embrace him as he once did. The servants had no time to entertain him, however, and the cold shoulder feeling only increased as time went by.

Vexen never bothered himself with Roxas much at all. It was clear that the two blonds didn't like each other very much, but under Cloud's still somewhat watchful eye, they behaved as amiably as they could. But it soon seemed that Vexen had a different way of getting under his skin. The royal confidant began to convince the king that the outside world was dangerous; there was talk of assassinations and evil plots flying all around, stirring up the hype and worry for the king. So, in the interest of protecting his only son and heir, King Cloud decreed that he was to remain in the castle at all times, guarded so as to keep him out of trouble and to keep trouble away from him. It began a time when the king began to distrust his own people, and the spiral continued downward...

The kings eyes were now blank and fearful. His servants were alarmed by the changes, and his own son barely recognized him. No one knew exactly what was happening, but all cast dark, suspicious eyes upon the ever kind and helpful Vexen, whose smile never quite seemed to reach his eyes when he spoke to them. Gossip spread that it was time to act, for the good of the people, but no one dared move against the king or his advisor, for such a move would undoubtably cause chaos to wrack their beautiful kingdom...

It was a heartbreaking day when the king was found dead in his throne room; eyes cold and pained even as he sat regally on his throne. It was the prince who discovered him there, and for a long time afterward, the boy refused to speak about the matter. He would only sob and scream, his nightmares every night would haunt the castle halls until his voice grew hoarse and he could scream no more.

The king's funeral was brief; Cloud had never been one for lengthy ceremonies in life. All the kingdom turned out to mourn their fallen leader, watching his cremation with revered silence, for those who could manage it. It rained that day, as if the sky wished to add to their tears of sorrow...

Vexen had pronounced the death as a heart attack, and somberly led the people in prayer for the great man, as was his duty. The law of the land held that until Roxas was ready to rule at the age of 17, the king's trusted advisor was to manage the affairs of state, and so, without dispute, Vexen took his seat and reigned over the kingdom.

It wasn't long before the mourning ceased, however, and the old man's true nature was revealed for all to see. He proved to be a cruel master, levying high taxes on the people and imprisoned many who could not afford to pay. He decreed that those who would not obey his laws be forced to leave, or subject themselves to the dungeons and what torture awaited there. And the people grudgingly bowed before him, powerless to refuse...

Roxas was deeply saddened by this, seeing his father's once great kingdom become a sham and a hell to many. But there was nothing he could do about any of it. Vexen did not have the power to remove him from his birthright (that the people insisted on heavily and did not relent), but he could command the boy much like everyone else in the kingdom, so he was often cruel to him as well, making him work like the servants. But, humiliated and sad as he was, the prince did not let his bitterness take hold. His legacy was all that was left of the kingdom's former glory, and so he held to it, remaining as gentle and kind as he ever was to those that loved him. The keyblade would accept nothing less, after all.

He found family and happiness with the other servants and toiled away with them everyday, knowing that someday he would right the horrible wrongs Vexen had set upon them, and make the man pay for his crimes.

But of course, Vexen himself had other ideas. He accepted that once the prince was of age, the kingdom would fall to him, but that didn't mean that he would simply sit by and see it happen. No, as the years went by, Vexen worked day and night, experimenting and researching with all matter of sciences and black magics, desiring to eventually remove the keyblade from its pedestal himself. Only then would the right be his, and the kingdom would bow completely under his sway.

But the magic of the keyblade was old and strong, much stronger than he could have foreseen. Time and time again, Vexen would try, and every time he failed to make the key even budge one inch from its firm pedestal. He became more desperate and frustrated every year, and the people watched, knowing full well what he intended, and fearing that he would soon slip into madness because of it. Vexen swore to himself that he would be the kingdom's only true ruler and keep his power and authority forever. He would accept nothing less, and remove anything or anyone that stood in his way.


	2. Chapter 2

5 years later. . . . . . .

Roxas set down his broom and sighed, wiping a bit of sweat away from his brow casually as he did so. The sun was just barely beginning to peak over the horizon, and a warm, glowing light drifted in from the windows, settling over the kitchen and casting shadows on the floor. Another boy with dark spiky hair sat dozing in the corner, and the prince smiled softly, retrieving a blanket from the closet and draping it over his shoulders. The servant boy didn't stir, and Roxas didn't have the heart to wake him now. The two of them had been working all through the early morning to have the room properly prepared, and his friend never had enough sleep as it was.

The little blond gathered his supplies and went to the door, smiling once more over his shoulder at the other boy as he left.

"Good morning, Pence," he whispered.

The rest of the castle seemed was quiet and still, though Roxas knew that that was an illusion. The servants had likely been up for hours, like himself, keeping the castle in order for its master and readying it for the day ahead. Roxas never knew what the day would bring, but every day was a step closer to when he would finally be able to rise to power, and bring justice to his people once again. So, unless it was just an all-around bad day, he tried to look on the coming hours hopefully.

And besides, any day was a great day when he wasn't forced down into Vexen's lab as his unwilling assistant. The prince often groaned at that thought; being down in the dark with the cobwebs and dust and the odd-smelling potions the old man was so very fond of. And with that came being exposed to the sights and sounds of the dungeons.

Roxas cringed slightly and continued on his way. His birthday was still months away, but to him, that day couldn't come soon enough.

After passing through a few more rooms and halls, he reached the familiar wooden door and turned the handle slowly, pulling it back to allow the glorious red light to seep through before he finally stepped outside. Early spring flowers had begun to bloom throughout the gardens, making Roxas smile. His friend Olette, another servant at the castle, loved these flowers dearly and tended to them even when she had other chores to do. It was nice to see someone still doing something because she wanted to, and not just because it was her job.

Today there was no one wandering the garden, although the prince didn't really mind. It was tranquil and quiet, and a nice place to go when he needed to think or be on his own.

There were several different breeds growing out here, but Roxas wandered straight towards his favorites; a single bush blooming with pristine, white roses. For some reason he could never really guess, roses had always been his favorite flower, and these ones that were white like snow glowed so beautifully despite their simplicity. And in the morning they would glow a delicate shade of pink and glisten with morning dew; untainted and untouched by anything but the very nature that grew them.

Roxas loved to stop and watch them occasionally, wishing that others weren't too busy to take a moment to see such beauty in a time when a little happiness was so valued. But it wasn't really their fault, he supposed. Not everyone had the leisure time, and really, _he _had a number of chores he should have been doing at the moment. But the prince just felt too distracted at the moment to care, listening to the sounds of birds and bees humming about in the air.

Roxas bent a little low to cup a small blossom in his palm, careful not to pull it from its stem and admiring it for a minute. He smiled a small, simple smile at it, before turning his gaze absently to the middle of the courtyard.

The Keyblade stood in the center as it always had, still very much unmoved by Vexen's efforts to the boy's relief. Like the roses, it too seemed to bask in the glow of the sunrise, its ancient metal freshly polished and sparkling despite the rust-like color it absorbed. For a moment, the boy stood there and looked at it, and then he rose and walked over, gently reaching out his left hand to rest upon its hilt.

Roxas smiled when he was sure he felt the power and magic flowing through it, spreading to his hand and up his arm in a delightful tingling sensation. He already felt a connection to the powerful relic, and was sure it would choose him when the time came. That was good. The little blond shut his eyes and hummed softly as he simply let the power fill him. Somehow, just being close to the keyblade and even touching it was enough to make him feel strong and ready. He wondered if it was really all that heavy once it was pulled free...

_Maybe today, things will go alright..._

Suddenly, the prince felt something poking him in the back of the head. He immediately yelped and spun around, only to find a familiar boy with dark blond hair smiling down at him playfully.

"Demyx! For heaven sakes, how many times have I asked you not to do that?"

The older boy completely disregarded him, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. "Lord's orders, Roxy. The old fossil wants a word with you, and you know how he gets if you take too long."

Despite his mood and the thought of going to see Vexen, Roxas sniggered evilly. The two of them always talked this way about the man, but never to his face of course. That would mean harsh punishment for the both of them, and Roxas didn't want his friend to get in any more trouble than he was usually.

Demyx was technically his personal servant, but Roxas never thought of him that way. They met shortly after Roxas's father died. Demyx had been called there to work at the castle, away from his own home and family, and Roxas had sympathized immediately. He was sure the older blond would hate him for that decree, but he seemed to understand that Vexen was the cause, and the two were fast friends after a few awkward first days.

The older boy now followed him almost constantly when not occupied with other work, and although he could annoy Roxas to no end, the little blond was glad to have the company. The castle was almost entirely devoid of any kids his own age, besides Olette who tended the gardens and Pence who worked in the kitchens, but they had little time to spare on him outside of work. And the castle could be a very lonely place for a boy...

"Well, I suppose I should go then. I wouldn't dream of ruffling his dusty old feathers..."

The older boy smirked and took his hand, leading the way back out of the gardens. Once the initial humor had died, Roxas let out a long sigh. All joking aside, Vexen was very easily riled when things didn't go his way, and like the coward he was, had no objection to beating such insolence out of the people below him. Roxas himself had several bruises to prove that. Although the man wasn't very strong, his beatings still hurt; enough to remind the prince that disobedience and downright _rudeness _towards the current ruler was not tolerated at all.

That didn't stop Roxas from having a little fun now and then at his expense, though...

Demyx seemed to notice him tensing the closer they got to the throne room, and he gave a gentle, reassuring squeeze to his hand as they walked. Roxas smiled back and tried to relax; tried to forget all the bad feelings surrounding the room and the one who now lurked within it.

Back in his chambers, Vexen paced irritably across the floor; a dark, heavy shadow weighing on his mind. What he was planning was a very delicate process, one that could get him into a lot of trouble if anyone ever caught wind of it. But it was now or never. The revelation he had received earlier that morning had warned him that not only was his time running out, but also that there was only so much his magic could do...

_His room had been dark and cold as he rose that morning and approached the far right closet. Thrusting it open, he gazed at the large shield hanging inside for a moment before he turned around to reveal a slightly smaller mirror hidden on its inside. _

_Laying his hand on the mirror, he spoke, " Spirit of the mirror, by the powers of ice and dark I summon you. Obey my desire and come forth now, or forever lurk in the depths of shadow!" _

_Slowly, a fog began to settle over the mirror, obscuring even his own reflection as it spread. Then a pale, ghostly face appeared as the mist dispelled; a pale, thin, sickly face with just enough purple-grey hair to cover one eye. _

_"I have come forth, as you commanded." the face said flatly, sounding all too bored at the development. "What would you know, my lord?" _

_Vexen glared at the face and spat. " I now have little more than a year before I will be forced out of the kingdom by that royal brat and his friends! I need more time to reveal the secrets of the keyblade! Tell me what I must do to secure my throne!"_

_The mirror's face sighed heavily, shaking its head. "Master, you cannot hope to break the keyblade's magics so quickly. Time and time again you have asked me for its secrets, and again I tell you, such ancient magic cannot be broken by mere force of will. You must either be worthy of its power, or find a way to circumvent the law..."_

_The old blond growled harshly. "There must be a way! Every year, the boy grows stronger as I myself grow older and weaker! My heart will never change for that blasted relic's pleasures, and I will not stoop to a lawyer's game!"_

_"That is all I can say to you, my lord..." the face replied, his voice still flat and uncaring. "Think of what you hope to gain and that which you cannot lose. Do not wait until the boy is man enough to rise against you..."_

Those last words he'd said were haunting Vexen now more than ever. He had thought of this before, oh yes, but the people were not stupid. Anything within the castle walls could be linked immediately to him, and while the army could put down peasant uprisings for the most part, there were also those who could oppose him from the inside. Zack, the young, foolish captain of the guard, was loyal to Roxas, and although his men were somewhat scattered in their allegiance, there were not enough men Vexen could readily trust to protect himself.

By law, he could not remove the captain anymore than he could remove the prince, and the old man often worried that the two together could lead a sufficient force against him.

If he could only separate them. If he could only break the people's spirits as well as their bodies, then could he truly stand unopposed and do with the kingdom as he pleased. The mirror was right. The boy was still young and weak; there was time enough to dispose of him yet, but he would have to tread carefully.

Vexen also wanted to make it painful, purposeful; to make the insolent little brat sorry he ever sought to stand in the way of his plans...

"Sephiroth..."

His thoughts broke as the door to his audience chamber opened and immediately in came the prince and his silly little servant boy. His face was a bit dirty, no doubt from the morning chores Vexen insisted that he do (to show him the value of a hard day's work, of course; though Vexen himself would never lower _himself _to such peasant work). His eyes were bright, defiant as always, but the pale boy bowed before him, as did his servant, and Vexen smiled somewhat darkly.

_Good...that's it...Bow like the rest of your little vermin..._

"Good morning, Lord Vexen." The pleasantries were strained as always, but nevertheless, Roxas was perfectly polite and respectful to his face. The old man sat back and folded his hands together, twiddling two fingers idly as he spoke.

"Good morning, Roxas. I have a special mission involving you today, one that I think you'll enjoy very much."

That provoked the slightest eye roll in his direction, but Vexen brushed it off with a small frown. _You'll get yours soon enough, you little-_

"And what would you have me do, my lord?" Still that guarded tone, and the small, polite smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"At the edge of the northern forest is a spring that is known for producing many mystic stones. I need some for my experiments, and everyone else is far too busy today to go for me. That is why I have chosen you and Demyx to go and retrieve some for me."

Roxas seemed taken aback by this, a suspicious look on his face. True, he hadn't been allowed outside the castle in quite some time, and never was he let out without a number of guards to escort him. Vexen knew this wasn't like himself at all.

"Surely I heard right? You want _me_ to go out and retrieve these for you?"

"Yes," Vexen said calmly, not too sweetly lest he appear more suspicious. "The stones are found deep within the spring, and as I have been told, can sometimes be found in the tiniest crevices. Many of the people I send are much too large to collect the stones. That is why you are perfect for the job. And don't worry, I trust Demyx is more than capable of keeping you safe while you are out."

The older blond beamed happily at the praise, although Roxas looked thoughtful and somewhat angry for a moment. Vexen smiled. The little quip about his height was sure to have offended him, and that was good. As the stand-in ruler, he and the prince could not engage in outright threats or insults publicly. That was beyond rude in court, and besides, Vexen was above such nonsense. But they often engaged in little, smaller insults; too small to pick up for most, but definitely present to annoy one another. So, having added this little quip in, Roxas was sure to let his suspicions slide a little.

It worked. A moment later, the prince's expression stretched into a wide, boyish smile; the picture of how young and vulnerable he still was. Perfect...

"So that means I...I can really go out today?"

Vexen chuckled at the wide blue eyes. Oh so trusting. It was unbecoming for a prince to trust people so easily. That was how 'accidents' happened.

"Yes, _really_." he replied, a slight indignation there. He enjoyed getting into the act a little bit, but not so much as to say, "Would I lie to you?" He smirked a little and gave a casual wave of his hand.

"The two of you can leave at noon; there will be a escort awaiting you at a check point I've marked on your map. They will await you in the closest village and make sure you return safely. But you must be sure to make your way back to the check point before it gets dark. Do you understand?"

The boy nodded enthusiastically. "I understand!" Upon realizing that he was acting much too eager, Roxas checked himself quickly, and calmly said, "I will return by nightfall without fail. Thank you, Lord Vexen."

With that, Roxas turned around and sped off for his room, a noticeable skip in his step as he went. Vexen smirked as he watched him go. It was too bad he wouldn't be there later, to see that sweet, innocent little face twisting in pain and betrayal.

Demyx had turned to follow the prince, clearly delighted to see him so happy, when a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"Do not leave yet, Demyx." Vexen whispered in his ear, a wicked smile crossing his face. "I have yet another important job for you. It must be done quickly and without fail..."

He handed Demyx a small, scarlet box, to which the boy blinked in confusion, and then continued to whisper in his ear. Demyx's blue eyes widened in alarm as he turned to face the lord. "What?...Why?...No, you can't!...You can't make me do that!"

Vexen looked at him, face without mercy or sympathy, his eyes glaring darkly into Demyx's. "You _must, _Demyx. You know what will happen if you defy me. And if you breathe a word of this to anyone..._That_ is an order."

With that, the lord swept aside his cape and stood, vanishing from the room quickly and leaving the confused and saddened blond boy behind him. Demyx stood still for a second as the gravity of the situation hit him, and the once smiling, goofy teen then sank to the floor, sobbing with despair.

"I-I can't...I can't refuse him...I-I'm so sorry, Roxas..."


	3. Chapter 3

"Okay! I think I got one!" Roxas exclaimed with a deep breath of air. He'd been swimming around in the spring for quite a while now; the sun was moving lower in the sky, and even a few clouds seemed to be settling in. The prince hoped desperately that it wouldn't rain. The lighting wasn't very good as it was, and the ride back to the castle would be miserable in a storm.

Demyx nodded silently, holding out a small, open leather pouch from where he knelt by the bank. Apparently even Demyx was too tall to retrieve the stones from the water, which left Roxas swimming about trying to collect them all himself. How Vexen had found out about these in a place so tiny and obscure was beyond him, but then again, the old man liked to give Roxas hard, laborious tasks just to see him sweat and groan. This was hardly out of the usual, besides its location.

For once, though, Roxas was really enjoying himself. It had been so long since he had gone swimming anywhere, and the water was so fresh and cool. It felt good on his sweaty skin, and the sun was warm and pleasant overhead. It had taken a bit of time to remember how to stay afloat at first, but luckily for the prince he hadn't completely forgotten.

He was more surprised Demyx didn't seem to be enjoying himself. They were off by themselves by the kingdom's boarder, casually working and relaxing by the spring, which was much better than cleaning the castle all day. Not to mention the older blond had a talent for magic, water spells in particular, and this would have been a perfect chance for him to work on it. Though secretly, as bothered as he was by Demyx's unusual somberness, Roxas had to thank his lucky stars that he wasn't practicing. His friend liked to use him as a practice partner, and Roxas had been the victim of numerous magical mishaps back when the older blond was still learning the basics. The prince himself was very poor at it; it seemed he and magic just didn't mix.

"You alright, Dem?" the boy asked, poking his head out of the water and resting half out on the shore. Demyx was busy tending to the horses and unpacking a bit of food for them to share, but he looked over his shoulder a moment before quickly averting his gaze.

"Y-Yeah, Rox. I'm just not feeling too great right now. It's nothing..."

Roxas sighed and shook his head, but decided he would leave it at that. It wasn't often that his friend had something on his mind (...well, for too long, anyways), but it was his business if he wanted to share it or not. With that, the little blond sank back beneath the surface and scanned the rocky bottom for more special stones. He completely missed the guilty look Demyx shot him before disappearing back into the crystal blue water...

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

It was late afternoon when Roxas declared he would hunt no more. The boy threw himself down on the grass, sighing and basking in the fading light of the day, perfectly happy until he looked up and saw yet more clouds beginning to move in. The shade made him shiver slightly, but he was too tired and lazy to do much besides pull his thin cotton shirt back over his head. Demyx was off routing through the saddlebags for something, so Roxas merely curled up on the bank and closed his eyes, letting himself drift off peacefully...

As he dosed, the little blond dreamed briefly about his father, remembering everyone seemed a lot happier, himself included. He was 7 years old again, and King Cloud was sitting behind him astride a tall, sturdy palomino stallion, pointing ahead while the distracted child smiled and clapped happily.

_"Look there, Roxas," the king said softly, "That is the site of the annual fire festival."_

_Roxas gasped in excitement as he saw crimson and gold festival tents lining the town before them, separated by long streamers and stalls selling all sorts of wonderful gifts and oddities. A lively tune was drifting towards them, something involving several violins and a fiddle, and people danced through the streets in elaborate costumes, singing words in a strange language Roxas had never heard before._

_"Papa, why are they celebrating?" the boy chirped curiously. _

_"My son, they are celebrating to pay homage to their local deity and celebrate the brightness and warmth of life-giving flames." _

_"It looks like fun! Can we go?" _

_Cloud smiled kindly and placed a hand on his shoulder, chuckling softly as Roxas's eyes widened in childish wonder. Then, with a simple wave of the hand, the king called a small flame before him magically. It danced to life just above the palm of his hand. _

_"Yes, Roxas. Fire is truly an important element; it cooks our food and keeps us safe, keeping out the cold at night. But you must always remember that fire can harm as well as heal, and regardless of a man's power, it cannot be tamed." _

_The fire in his hand grew larger and larger, seemingly without control, it's light reflecting in Roxas's bright blue eyes. The flames crackled and waved madly as they grew, and the boy gasped softly, nestling back into his father as far as he could from it._

_"There's no need to be frightened of it, Roxas," Cloud said softly, patting him on the head gently to calm him. "I merely want you to understand that with or without magic, fire cannot be completely controlled. To attempt to do so is foolish, and it is the same with other elements as well...but fire certainly most of all. __You must always respect it for the force of nature that it is."_

_Slowly, the flame seemed to cool in his hand, and within a minute the fire disappeared completely, leaving a stunned and fearful Roxas intently watching the place it had just been. But a deep chuckle quickly scared the boy out of his stare, and he blinked up to see his father ruffling his hair and smiling warmly. But even as a boy, he didn't miss the seriousness in his father's words, nor the wise look in his eyes._

_"I understand, Papa..."_

"Eeep!" Roxas started awake when he felt a drop of rain tap him on the nose, and shortly after there came a clap of thunder that seemed to shake the whole world with its loudness. The boy shivered even more now, and he swiftly decided that it was time for them to head back. He didn't know how long he'd been sleeping, but it was clear that it was getting later and later, and Vexen was sure to punish him if he broke that silly little condition...

It was then that a faint shadow fell over the prince, and he looked up, smiling, expecting to find Demyx telling him it was time to return. But his bright blue eyes instantly grew wide as the shadow advanced on him threateningly, stalking ever closer...

It _was _Demyx standing over him, but if Roxas had thought he looked a bit off before, he could tell there was _definitely _something wrong with him now. His somewhat pained expression was now downright dismal, with large, wet tear-streaks pouring from his eyes. In his hand was a small but sharp pointed silver dagger, cold and gleaming even without the sunlight, and the older boy was now hovering over him, slowly moving the blade forward with every step.

"Demyx?"

The boy didn't answer him, but he swallowed deeply before moving his free arm forward quickly. He easily pinned Roxas to the bank, pushing heavily on his shoulder while he virtually straddled him on the grass. Roxas barely breathed in that moment, suddenly realizing that this couldn't possibly be just some sick joke on Demyx's part. He wasn't acting.

The prince's hands shot forward instinctively, trying to push him off even though he had no idea what was going on.

"D-Demyx! W-What are you doing?" he almost shouted, reaching up then to touch his friend's pale, clammy face as the blade now slowly moved to his breast. "I-I don't understand!"

Demyx sniffled loudly and tried shutting his eyes, letting the tip of the blade trace lightly over Roxas's heart above his shirt and barely letting it sink in to tear the fabric. His hand seemed to freeze there, and for many minutes, the two boys stayed in that exact spot, the silence only disturbed by the patter of what was now heavy rain and the more frequent booms in the distance.

"Demyx!" Roxas breathed, now hardly able to find his voice. "Demyx, please! What's wrong? You can tell me!"

The older boy looked away, and a sudden dry, sad laugh escaped his mouth awkwardly.

"No..." he sobbed, still with that harsh laugh that Roxas never wanted to hear from him again. "No, I c-can't tell you Roxas...I'm sorry..." The blade was pulled back slightly, and miserable blue eyes squeezed tightly shut.

"Dem, no!"

The dagger froze mid-strike, still poised for the kill but now lacking anything in momentum to deal the final blow. Demyx's deep blue eyes popped open, and he stared down into deeper blue that mirrored his own, so lost and sad and frightened. It broke his heart, seeing that, and with a shaky sigh, the older blond tossed the dagger away and sat back, sobbing into his hands.

"I-I can't! I can't do it!" he wailed.

Roxas sat up slowly, his mind still processing what had just happened. Demyx had really meant to kill him. The goofy, happy-go-lucky farm boy had just held his life at knifepoint, and he still didn't know why! Demyx wasn't like that at all! So slowly, carefully, Roxas reached forward and placed a shaky hand on his shoulder, trying to calm his own trembling voice as he spoke.

"D-Dem...What's wrong? W-Why are you..."

Suddenly, Demyx whipped around, startling him and grabbing him firmly by the shoulders.

"Roxas! You have to get out of here!" he nearly shouted, his eyes looking desperately into Roxas's; begging to be understood.

"W-What? But why? Please, Demyx! Talk to me! I-I don't understand!"

The older blond shook his head vehemently, giving him a good shake as well. "No, Rox! You have to trust me here! Vexen's gone insane! He ordered me to kill you!"

Roxas blinked, feeling warm tears gathering in his eyes.

"V-Vexen?" In a way, it made sense. He was sure the old sorcerer had wanted him dead and gone for years, but such a bold move right before his 17th birthday?

"Yes! He'll stop at nothing until you're dead, Roxas!" Demyx said frantically, getting up quickly and running to grab something from the saddlebags. "You have to leave before he gets you! Now!"

"B-But...where am I supposed to go?" the little blond shot back, getting to his feet quickly and joining his once close friend by the horses. "I-If I don't go back, then Vexen will just keep making everyone miserable! They'll say I'm a coward, o-or that I failed them! I can't just run away and abandon my people!"

But when Demyx turned around to face him, Roxas was startled to see even more tears and desperation in his friend's eyes. The older boy looked so lost and torn, and he placed a quivering hand gently on the prince's shoulder, meeting his eyes.

"Roxas," he said softly, as calmly as he could manage, "If you hide and come back later, then you can take your throne when the time is right, and stay safe from him. If you go back now, Vexen will surely try to kill you again! He's mad with power, and he'll stop at nothing to keep it! Besides," Demyx averted his eyes, instead studying the growing layer of mud caking his boots, "V-Vexen said that...if I didn't obey him...m-my family..."

"Oh..._oh!"_ The boy gasped, realizing before Demyx even had to finish. That dirty, conniving cheater! Pulling a move like that and threatening Demyx, knowing he couldn't refuse if his home was at stake. Roxas knew that, more than anything, the older boy loved and missed his family, and it made the prince boil slightly with anger, even though he wasn't sure what the old man was planning to do. And there wasn't a way to warn the village in time; it was on the other side of the castle!

Even if Roxas _did _eventually become king, if he returned now, surely his friend would have to pay the price. But his people would never stand for that! It would be an attack without warrant!

Still...

"It's okay, Dem," Roxas said finally, wrapping his arms around him comfortingly. They stayed like that for a few minutes, as Demyx sniffled and composed himself, and Roxas tried to think of some other way around this situation. Perhaps he could find shelter in the woods and live there until the time was right, but it seemed unsafe and unlikely. He glanced at the forest dubiously. Who knew what sorts of animals could be living in there, and Roxas didn't exactly have a lot of outdoor experience to speak of in the last five years of his life.

"I-I'll go...A-And I promise that I'll be back." He wanted to keep his friend's family safe. He felt as if he owed Demyx that much. But it was still going to be hard. The little blond felt awful, both for himself and for all the people he would be hurting in this charade. Everyone would think he was dead. What would happen to their hope? Their happiness?

Demyx placed a gentle hand his shoulder and searched his eyes deeply. That annoyed Roxas a bit.

_Is he trying to make me regret this?_

"Are you sure you'll be alright? I'm worried for you, Rox..."

The prince shook his head, wiping away any and all tears from his eyes despite the pounding rain.

"I-I'll manage somehow." he said simply, grabbing his cloak and pulling it around him as tightly as possible.

Demyx fished through the supplies and made him a soggy little pack to take with him. It had a bit of bread and cheese, although that was sure to go bad immediately, and Roxas slung it onto his back beneath the cloak, hoping to keep it a bit drier that way. But he was already soaked to the bone, and the thin material wasn't really made to last through stormy weather.

"Maybe I should go with you..."

"No." Roxas said firmly, a little loudly so as to be heard from the forest over the thunder. "If you're gone for too long, Vexen will know something's amiss. We may be wasting time as it is. I'll be fine, I promise."

Demyx nodded, and mounted up quickly, tying the other horse's bridle to his saddle horn. He looked back over his shoulder at Roxas sadly. "Please be careful, my friend..."

With that, he clicked his tongue and urged the horse forward, leaving the little prince alone in the rain, at the edge of the tall, deep forest. With a shaky sigh, and a few stray tears that mingled with the rain, Roxas watched his friend go until he disappeared in the mist, like a ghost in the night. He turned slowly to face the deep forest, with trees so high that he could scarcely see overtop of them, and gulped briefly.

It wouldn't do for him to be weak now. Resolved to his purpose, Roxas forced his legs to move and began his trek into the night, praying that safety and warmth wouldn't be too hard to find.

_I forgive you, Demyx..._


	4. Chapter 4

Axel sat lazily in his cabin, an almost perfect hermit with his long, unruly hair and slightly tattered clothes. Although it wasn't the seclusion driving him mad tonight. It was boredom.

Outside the world raged and stormed, with winds whipping the trees against the windows, and lightning flashing brightly in the sky. He certainly hoped the damage wouldn't be too bad after this night. This was probably one of the worst rains to ever hit the border forest, at least as far as Axel could recall.

The redhead sighed lightly before getting up and carefully tending the fire in his hearth. He knew no spells or any magical incantations, just simply piled some logs and twigs and then lit a match to kindle the flame, but that was good enough for him. He never really had a taste for the complexities of the cities, except for the magic coolers that preserved foods perhaps, and that only seemed to reinforce his decision to stay in the woods right where he was. Ever since his mother had died, he at the tender age of 15, the boy had nothing to tie him to this miserable old shack anymore. But it was homey and warm enough, just enough for a single lad like himself, and with no where else to go, he figured, why not?

He traded a bit here and there with anyone passing by; it was practically the only way he ever heard the news of the land or about its new technologies. For most of his time, though, he was a hardened miner, toiling away in the caves for hours unending, in the heat of the day with a bunch of other sweaty, old men. That was hard work, but again, Axel didn't complain much. No one was ordering him around, and he lived how he wanted. It was perfect, or as close to perfect as it could be in this messed-up little kingdom.

Axel's bright green eyes wandered over the dancing flames, to the couple of pictures sitting just above the fireplace. One in particular he focused in on; a portrait of a woman with short, auburn hair and a beautiful, smiling face. She was holding a squirming, giggling boy in one arm, as he tried pathetically to climb over her shoulder, chasing something outside of the canvas that Axel barely remembered anymore. He smiled sadly at the picture, wishing he remembered just a bit more of those days.

Barely an hour had passed before Axel realized it was early morning, and the storm outside had faded into nothingness while he was lost in the warmth of the fire.

"Well, nature's run its course for now." he said, stretching as he stood. "Time to see what the damage is."

Pulling on a warm cloak over his long tunic, the redhead went to the door and stepped outside, taking his first whiff of the fresh morning air. There were many broken branches laying strewn about in the mess, and Axel even winced faintly when he saw a bird's nest crushed beneath an entire tree that had toppled over. A lot of trees in these woods were thin and unhealthy; it took only one storm for them to get caught on fire or knocked over. _That _was certainly one thing he didn't like about living out here...

It was a bit chilly outside, and Axel pulled his cloak tighter around him as he shivered faintly. The sun was just beginning to peak above the horizon, but it would probably be another hour or so before it was light enough to head to work, he supposed. Miners rose with the sun out there, and pretty much planned their days around it; though, contrary to popular belief, Axel very much enjoyed his sleep. His days off were often spent sleeping, with only a small break in between for eating or bathing.

With what light he had to go by, the redhead decided to make his way over to the little stream where he always chose to take his baths. He had no particular reason to for this choice, nor would he have one ready for anyone who asked. It just felt like a good place to check the damage. And if there was some problem there, like a dam made of flotsam and jetsam, the sooner he found it, the sooner he could fix it. He wasn't the only one who depended on the water after all...

No animals were out yet. They were all still in hiding most likely. Axel felt sorry for anything wandering around that night in that terrible weather.

Soon, he was within sight of the river, but he noticed something odd lying across the bank on the other side. Curious, the redhead picked up his pace, practically sprinting by the time he reached the edge of the water. He jumped gracefully across with no trouble at all, but as he drew closer, he saw a truly shocking sight.

Up on the bank of the river lay a body. It was a boy, unconscious, soaked, and covered in mud. Kneeling down hurriedly, Axel found that the child was deathly pale and bore various scratches, several of them trickling blood. As he lifted him slightly off the ground, Axel felt thin, wiry muscles. The boy's frame was short and very small; he weighed almost nothing to the seasoned miner.

"Hey, are you alright?" Axel touched his forehead, pulling back with a hiss. The boy had a heavy fever. Axel realized that some of the damp he felt under his hands was sweat, not just rainwater. Even in this cold, this boy was sweating heavily, his breathing hoarse and quick. Not a good sign at all.

_Was he out in that_ storm_ all night?_ Axel winced at the thought. The boy was lucky to be alive, though he seemed to be clinging to life somewhat precariously.

Axel pushed all questions to the back of his mind and hoisted the little blonde up a bit across his knee. "Hey." No response. He tried more firmly, "Hey, you need to wake up. Come on now..."

The boy's eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly, but his eyelids didn't even flutter.

Axel sighed to himself. The boy was undoubtably alone, and didn't seem like he would wake any time soon. In a snap, Axel has made a decision. He wasn't fond of company, but he didn't want a child's death on his conscience.

He got to his feet slowly, lifting the blonde into his arms. "Up you go." He pressed his head gently to rest in the crook of his neck, feeling the soft blond hair tickling his skin slightly. That felt nice at first, until Axel became aware of a far less pleasant feeling; a slimy, disgusting tingle. He looked down and cringed when he saw all the mud and grime he was now getting on his clothes.

"Great," he grumbled, trying to wipe it away with one hand. He somehow managed to get it off while still supporting the boy's head gently, but grumbled again and turned quickly to get back home and out of the night air. He wanted to warm again.

This was not charity, he told himself. The boy would pay him back for all of this...

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Axel hastily cleaned him off outside, drying the shivering blonde off with his oldest, rattiest towels before bring him into the house. All of the redhead's clothes were much too big for the boy, but they were better than nothing.

The clothes hung loosely on him, but that would be enough for now. Axel also took the liberty of seeing to the scratches, bandaging the ones on his head as gently as possible. If he was lucky, they wouldn't get infected. Once that was done, he laid the boy gently on the couch and covered him in the warmest blankets he owned, piling them on as he passed the couch. The boy looked better, not shivering as much as before, but shifted a bit uncomfortably in his sleep, groaning softly as Axel felt his forehead. His fever was still nothing to scoff at, but somehow the redhead didn't feel as worried as he had been earlier. With proper care, the threat of pneumonia waned.

Axel took a short break to grab a glass of water for himself, and then set about making something that might help to soothe the fever. It didn't take long to find something in the cluttered pantries, and soon Axel had some hearty soup boiling in a kettle over the fire.

He remembered an old concoction of his mother's stored away in one of the drawers. It was a small vial of gooey, purple liquid that tasted utterly foul, but did its job remarkably well. Settling back down on his knees beside the couch, firm hands checked his charge once more before he tried administering the potion.

The boy coughed and recoiled even in sleep, but the redhead made sure he took all of it before going back to tend the fire. He was quick to return, carrying a small bowl of soup. It would wash down the vile medicine in no time.

Carefully he got a bit of the broth onto a little wooden spoon, and began patiently feeding the sick child, nursing him with a kind attentiveness he had never realized he had. It was an agonizingly slow process, and Axel was more than exhausted before very long, but he watched over the boy for a while, smiling a little when he saw him breathing in a more gentle, natural rhythm.

"That's better..." Axel whispered soothingly, setting the now empty bowl aside. He thoughtlessly stroked the boy's cheek, warm but not burning anymore. It was a simple, comforting gesture; one that his mother had done to him for as long as he could remember her. And yet it seemed personal, to touch this stranger so intimately. He didn't even know him.

But Axel did not regret his action in the least. On the contrary, he dared it again, this time marveling at the smooth skin beneath his hand. And he let it slide up slowly, tangling in messy blonde hair and tousling softly.

"You can sleep easy now..."

A small sigh answered him as the boy shifted a bit, almost curling on his side. Axel was a bit taken aback in the light of the fire. Without the terrible, sunken pallor to his skin, the boy seemed even younger. Beautiful, in a way. The spiky blond hairstyle was a bit strange, but Axel would be a lord among hypocrites to say so. Tugging on a loose red spike by his ear, he chuckled. Despite the looks of both hair, the feel of them was soft and pleasant.

_Still... _He wondered absently..._I wonder what color his eyes are... _He had yet to see them open, and vaguely pondered whether they would match that face.

It was at this point that Axel decided he would just skip work today. It was true, Xaldin hated slackers and he would probably get in trouble something awful, but there was no way he was going anywhere without at least a few hours sleep. There was also this sick boy to take care of. He might be staying for a while, what with his condition and possibly complicated background. Axel had to make sure to set up some important ground rules if that was the case.

So with that, Axel gave him one last little smile before he turned and went down the hall. There was room he could use when he was well enough, but for right now, it was better that he was closer to the fire, even as it grew weaker, crackling and sparking less often. Axel fell down on his bed and shut his eyes tightly, and he quickly drifted off to sleep even as the morning stirred all around him...


	5. Chapter 5

Axel snapped wide awake as a startled scream sounded, ripping through the whole cabin. It wasn't quite blood-curdling, but it sent his heartbeat ramming into his ribcage. He sprang from the bed in a flash, sprinting down the hall in the direction of the terrified sound.

"What's going on in here?" When he reached the living room, Axel found his guest tossing and screaming, eyes tightly shut and a cold sweat breaking out on his forehead. Axel stood frozen for a moment, unsure of what to do.

_Must be one hell of a nightmare._

Another scream brought him out of his reverie, and at once the redhead was at the boy's side, grasping his shoulders as gently but firmly as he could.

"Hey, kid! Take it easy, will you? Calm down!" Thrashing like that was dangerous. Axel didn't feel like wasting his efforts by letting the boy hurt himself, so he gripped hard, trying to hold him still until he awoke.

Suddenly, those eyes shot open as a scream ripped itself from trembling lips.

"Demyx!"

The boy struggled against him for a moment before lifting his gaze. He gasped, looking even more panicked, but Axel held firm.

"It's alright. It's alright, I won't hurt you. You were dreaming." The older boy spoke soothingly, slowly relaxing his grip but not ever letting him slip away completely.

After a moment, the blonde seemed to release that whatever danger he'd imagined was gone. Those blue eyes blinked rapidly for a while as he gazed around the simple abode, finally coming to a rest back on Axel. The redhead met his gaze evenly, waiting for him to adjust.

"Um... Can you," the boy began, looking down between them before coming back to Axel. "Can you let me go?...Please?"

The redhead looked down and quickly realized that he was still holding the blond by the shoulders. With a slight cough, he let go and backed away a step, closer to the fireplace.

"Sorry about that..." he said, raking a hand through his fiery hair a tad sheepishly. "I'm glad to see you're awake now. You looked pretty bad when I found you..." he trailed off, his smile not unkind as he regarded the young blond.

The boy blinked and promptly blushed, though that could have easily been a result of the fever.

"O-Oh..." The blond head then turned slowly to the side, gazing curiously. "Where am I?"

Axel smiled wider and gestured to the surrounding room with an animated sweep of his hand.

"Well, kid, you happen to be in the finest accommodations this side of the border forest! By the by, the name is Axel. Pleasure to meet you!"

The boy smiled for a moment, and all Axel could think of was how cute he looked. Within a moment, however, it vanished, as the boy sat back on the couch and stared blankly ahead, looking deep in thought.

Of course, Axel was never one to tolerate being ignored. After a minute of infuriating silence, he strode forward purposely, stopping just before the couch and towering over the huddled figure reclining on it. Another minute passed, and the boy looked up quickly, as he seemed to notice only now that the redhead was there. Then Axel slid his hand under the boy's chin and lifted, coaxing him to meet his gaze evenly.

"This is the part where you tell me your name, Blondie..."

The boy frowned at him briefly. Perhaps he'd struck a nerve of some sort, but Axel didn't really care. He waited patiently, relaxing but not relenting, as the blond looked away nervously.

_Please tell me he remembers his name at least... _Axel pleaded internally. It worried him initially, but he didn't have to wait long for the answer.

"...xas..."

Axel blinked, then leaned closer until his ear was only an inch or two away from the blond's face.

"I'm sorry...what was that?"

Those blue eyes looked a tad unsure, as if debating whether or not revealing himself was a smart idea. Not waiting for the boy to decide, the redhead smiled warmly and stepped back a bit, placing his hands on his boney hips.

"It's okay, kid. You're safe here..." he said firmly. "Knowing your name is just easer than saying, 'Hey' or 'You" all the time, am I right?"

The boy stilled looked a little hesitant, but he sighed softly and nestled back under his warm blankets, seemingly resigned.

"It's Roxas..."

Then there was another silence in the room, broken only by the natural sounds of the forest outside. Axel looked a little shocked, finally forcing himself to ask the question.

"Roxas? As in the prince of Strife Castle, Roxas?"

The blond curled inward slightly, defensive, his tone nervous and meek as he replied.

"Y-Yes."


	6. Chapter 6

Roxas watched the man warily, feeling a nervous churning in the pit of his stomach. He knew that his name was by no means common; that was the reason why he'd been so hesitant in the first place. He had no idea how long he'd been unconscious. Were there rumors spreading abut his 'death' already? What would this Axel person do to him, now that he knew he was the prince? Even as kind and caring as he'd always been, Roxas would have been a fool to assume he had no enemies, even in his own kingdom.

But the redhead didn't move. He seemed to be thinking things over in his head, and Roxas really wished he would hurry up. The boy wanted to know whether or not he should try to escape, though admittedly he was in no shape to be moving around much on his own. His vision was still a bit hazy and dark, and the rest of his body felt warm and sleepy. He panted softly as his heart continued to race, hoping it wasn't too noticeable.

And then Axel did something he hadn't expected. The redhead had quickly stepped in front of him again, and his face took on a stern, scolding expression.

"If that's true, and you are who you claim to be, WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?" The tone rose, now somewhat more intimidating, and Roxas tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to sink even lower into the couch. If only it could swallow him up completely...

"WHAT SANE PERSON GOES RUNNING AROUND IN A STORM IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WOODS UNATTENDED?" the older boy continued, gesturing widely. "THAT'S JUST COMMON SENSE, KID! YOU COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED! YOU PROBABLY WOULD HAVE IF I HADN'T FOUND YOU!"

"I..." the blond began, attempting to defend himself. "I know that, but-"

"NO BUT'S! THERE'S NO EXCUSE FOR SUCH CARELESSNESS, NONE AT ALL! IF YOU _ARE _THE PRINCE, YOU SHOULD BE THINKING ABOUT YOUR IMPORTANCE TO YOUR PEOPLE! WHAT WOULD THEY DO IF YOU JUST UP AND DISAPPEARED ONE DAY?"

The last bit hit Roxas hard, causing him to look down and away shamefully. No matter what Demyx said before, he still felt like a spineless coward. He'd run away, and everyone would think he was dead. They'd lose all hope...

"AND ANOTHER THING, YOU-" Axel paused as Roxas's eyes began to water, his shoulders trembling lightly with sobs. He'd had no choice, but either way he'd failed his people. He'd almost died this time, even when he'd been trying his best to do what was right. Axel was right, Demyx was wrong. He'd abandoned them...

Roxas started when he felt strong, bare arms wrap around him, the skin cool where his was hot and quivering. Roxas looked up to meet calm, concerned green eyes, the warmth in them seeming to radiate straight through to his heart.

His tone was tender, if a bit tired. "Hey...I'm sorry, kid. I didn't mean to upset you or anything..."

"N-No," Roxas said shakily, leaning in to the firm chest that was pressed lightly against his. "You're right. I did something stupid, a-and I failed my people..."

"Not yet you haven't."

The crying blond blinked, and one of Axel's hands began lightly stroking his back, moving in calm, reassuring circles.

"You're still alive, so you haven't failed them. Now you just have to not do something like that again, and you'll be just fine."

"B-But I-"

Axel cut him off, shaking his head and hushing him firmly. "We can talk about that later. For now, you just focus on sleeping and getting better. Can't have you worrying yourself to death, can I?" The redhead then smiled widely, and Roxas had to admit that, even with his strange, wild red hair, gleaming cat-like eyes, and ragged clothes, Axel seemed like a nice person overall. Definitely odd, and yet there was something special about that; a confidence in himself and his words that the blond just had to admire.

The boy nodded reluctantly, and after a few more minutes of simply being held, Roxas allowed himself to be guided back down on the couch to rest. Axel told him that he'd been sleeping for at least a day, and that now the older boy had to go to work.

"Gotta keep the supplies coming in somehow. So yeah, I will be off at the mine until later this evening. There's soup over the hearth if you get hungry, and I've got a couple books lying around here if you get bored. Just try to take it easy today, alright?"

Roxas nodded again, sighing a little as he curled up on his side. He was out immediately, dreaming of friends and forests and brilliant red hair...

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Axel smiled a little as he tucked the blankets up to Roxas's chin, smoothing the fabric absently. The boy had been so riled before, looking like he was ready to bolt after he told Axel his name. But the redhead understood. He was actually a bit relieved that Roxas had the good sense to be afraid, waking up in the home of a stranger. The child was far too trusting; that was showing more sense than he had wandering the woods the night before, _that _was for sure.

Axel sighed as he turned to gather his things for work. Of course, he had no idea what Roxas was even doing out here in the first place. He should probably have been asking all sorts of questions, even demanding to know what the future ruler of the kingdom was doing so far from the castle, and all by himself. Either someone seriously needed to be fired, or there was something far more complicated at work here; something Axel couldn't even guess at...

_He'll tell me when he's ready..._

The redhead refused to hear the details until his charge was well enough to relate them. Even if he thought he could now, he would stress and that could make his condition all the worse.

Slinging his bag onto his shoulder with ease, Axel took one last look at his living room before departing. The little blond still lay asleep on the couch, and Axel smiled as his gaze drifted to the picture of his mother sitting above the now darkened hearth. Her gaze was warm and tender as always, and he bid her a quick, quiet goodbye before slipping out the door and locking it tight.

The mine was a decent walk from his cabin, the path lined small stones laid out just before the entrance. It was quiet in the early morning, all except for a soft snoring sound that drifted lightly on the air. Axel recognized it immediately, and moved to the couple of large carts sitting by the cave entrance. Inside the far left one, he found a familiar figure curled up inside.

"Luxord, don't you ever go home? Time to get up, time's a wasting," Axel said unsympathetically, kicking the cart and jostling it a bit.

The man blinked at him briefly and groaned. Axel crossed his arms.

"Don't give me that. If I've gotta be up working now, then so do you, you lazy bum..."

"Morning, Axel," the old blond replied, yawning a bit before a vicious little smirk crossed his face.

"I didn't think you'd be here today. So why'dya skip yesterday? Got a new girlfriend, do ya?"

Axel blushed faintly at the thought, but punched the guy lightly in the arm as he turned to go. It wasn't a secret that the man hadn't had a girlfriend in years.

"Get real, you bastard."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Roxas woke up again a few hours later, when the sun was finally shining high in the sky, its beams glistening through the windows and into his eyes mercilously.

The boy sighed softly. He'd promised Axel that he wouldn't dwell on his problems, and he was perfectly happy to block them out any way he could, so he explored the books on the nearby table and sought for something distracting. There were various subjects scattered about, all in thin volumes, but nothing that particularly captured his interest. So, after heaving out another sigh, the boy got to his feet and searched for the kitchen.

He was still a bit weak and light-headed on his feet, but Roxas was happy to see he was improving rapidly. He placed a tentative hand to the wall, leaning on it for support when he needed, and in a short time, he managed to located the little kitchen.

And by little, he _really _meant little. The room was small, almost small enough for one person only to work inside it. There was a counter on which to prepare food, a bin to dispose of the garbage, several pantries, and a bucket for water. Upon closer inspection, Roxas was surprised to find a little gap in the sink with a small pipe contraption on the side.

So this place _did _have a bit of plumbing. He had originally thought the castle was the only place to afford such a luxury, though he noticed that the difference between the cabin and the castle's systems was that there was no place for him to take care of any...business.

The blond flushed lightly at that. They were supposed to go outside for that?

_What if it's raining? Or snowing? _He wondered nervously, shuddering just a bit.

Pushing those thoughts aside, Roxas looked around the small space, opening pantry doors and cabinets hesitantly in search of a bowl and spoon. He met the contents of most with disgust; it seemed that it'd been sometime since Axel had gotten around to any cleaning around there. One door revealed a perfect cobweb in all its glory, and Roxas let out a small 'eep' and shut the door quickly, having glimpsed the large spider that made it all too clearly.

"What a mess!" the boy said aloud, glancing around disapprovingly with his hands on his hips. He couldn't eat, or even rest, knowing there was this ungodly mess in the kitchen! Heaven knows how clean his utensils would be, _if _he could ever find them!

Luckily, Roxas had quite an extensive knowledge of cleaning. It turned out that Vexen's 'punishments' just helped to reinforce his obsessive cleaning habits over the years...

So, with that bold exclamation, the boy set himself to work. He found the pantry containing the mop and broom, and placed all the supplies in the water bucket to carry with him. He'd wash it out again later, after he was satisfied that the kitchen was clean.

"I'm sure Axel won't mind," he said softly, settling by the counter and ringing out the sponge. "I'll be doing him a favor, after all..."

He would surely be surprised, to come home to a clean house for once. Roxas was sure he wasn't too sick to do that. There had been times, back at the castle, when he'd been forced to work even when he was weak and feverish, and he'd managed to survive that somehow. This would be just fine...

Singing a little tune to himself, the blond cleaned away, uncaring as he worked late into the afternoon...


	7. Chapter 7

Demyx's return to the castle was even worse than either of the boys could have foreseen...

The castle was filled with the cries of sadness and dismay as the mullet-haired boy related his story, presenting the deeply slashed saddle to confirm their fears. It was an ambush, he cried! An ambush by petty thieves, who cared nothing for the prince's kind heart and gentle nature, but more for tiny metal coins he supposedly had in his pockets. Demyx had fought off the men as best as he could, but he had been separated from his friend, and, by the time he had reached Roxas again, it was too late.

His throat was slit, his body and possessions stolen by the fiends. There had been nothing left but the horse, the remains of the saddle, and the faint traces of blood staining the rough, old leather.

In the chaos that ensued, the people were too busy to notice the forlorn young man passing a small velvet box to the castle lord, murmuring soft, quivering words of assurance. Vexen's face was solemn and stony, but none who looked upon him could deny the harsh delight glowing faintly in his eyes. The mouth that just barely twitched up into a smile, or the creased brow that seemed to relax ever so slightly at the news.

What Demyx had failed to mention, however, was the true nature of the box's contents. For inside, in place of the prince's heart, as he was ordered to collect, there sat the small, simple heart of a boar. A wild pig the boy had fortunately found just at the edge of the forest. Only he knew the details of the switch, the simple exchange that allowed Roxas another chance to keep his life and come back to his people someday...

The Lord accept the ruse without a question. So did the people, for that matter. Soon everyone in the kingdom set about to prepare for the prince's funeral, as well as burying their already faint hopes for a better future. Vexen retired to his chambers early that day, to 'grieve' for the prince in solace and silence, or so he claimed. And it was at this time that Demyx mingled among the sobered servants, finding Pence and Olette, who Roxas loved and trusted dearly, and told them the hidden side of this most tragic story.

"Oh, Demyx! You let him go off alone?" the girl whispered nervously, as they closed the door to the kitchens behind them and sat at the long counter on the side wall. The staff had mostly left for the day, having been given the day to mourn and reflect. "He has no idea of the danger he faces in that forest!"

"Olette, please!" Pence soothed softly, placing a hand on her shoulder comfortingly. "Not so loud!"

"But what if something happens to him out there?" she shot back, shaking the pudgy boy furiously. "What if he's sick, or hurt, or-"

"O-OLETTE!"

Demyx watched the two of them sadly, as he pulled up a stool and sat behind them.

"He's right, Olette. There's nothing we can do about it now..."

"But he-"

"No." the blond said firmly, calmly prying her hands off of Pence. He looked solemn and stern as he spoke to her, an unusual side for the normally sunny, excitable boy.

"We have to be patient, and have faith that he's going to come back. It's hard enough, with everyone so glum and sure that he's dead, but we have to make do. We don't want Vexen to suspect that he's still around, or we risk putting him in even more danger."

The brunette ceased her hysterics, and Pence sighed loudly, leaning his elbows on the table and resting his head wearily.

"What a mess this is..."

"It's messed up! That's what it is!" Olette added in angrily, pounding her fist lightly on the counter. "How could anyone do something like that? It's too cruel, especially for Roxas..."

Demyx said nothing but simply stared at his lap, his expression guilty. Roxas had forgiven him, and he had been able to spare his friend that day from a horrible death, but the event would never be erased from his mind. _Ever. _He never wanted to see his friend so lost and terrified like that again, and if he could, the older boy would have raced back and followed him. Anything to ease his no doubt long, lonely journey. And as much as he didn't want to, Olette's words were still eating away at him, even if _he _wasn't the real target of those fears.

Now it was Demyx's turn to sigh. Was he staying warm? Had he found somewhere safe to stay? There were so many things that could go wrong...

Just then, to the mild shock of both boys, Olette stood up suddenly, her expression determined and strangely bright. She looked between the two of them briefly, then nodded.

"Right! We can't just sit here moping and fearing the worst. Last you saw of him, Roxas was alive, right?"

The blond nodded. "Uh...yeah..."

"Then we just keep working like nothing's changed. We can pass this along to Zack and some of the others, but we can't let the information go too far, or old Vexen might hear about it."

Pence smiled a little, looking much more enthusiastic than Demyx.

"Yeah! Roxas will be back before we know it, so we just gotta keep thinking positive!"

"But not too positive," Olette said, smiling slyly. "Then Vexen can still catch on."

"Right!"

The two of them looked over at Demyx, their eyes shining with new hope and determination. The blond wasn't sure if he could summon up the same faith and excitement that they were, but the least he could do was agree. In his heart he hoped that Roxas would be alright and come home safely, and yes, there was still a large amount of guilt in him for what he had done...or more, what he had almost done. But the boy smiled faintly at his eager friends, nodding in affirmation.

"So we're agreed!" Olette said proudly, turning to chat softly with Pence about some little idea she had. Only Demyx seemed to notice another presence in the room, his eyes narrowing with suspicion and slight fear as a shadow passed from under the door...

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Axel's shoulders slumped low with exhaustion, as he trudged back on the path to his humble home. Work had never been so miserable in his life!

_Really now...I'm sick ONE DAY, and Xaldin's gotta be all over me about it... _he grumbled inwardly.

_Oh well... _he thought, stopping a moment to stretch out his back and groan as an audible crack echoed through the small area. _I wonder what the prince is up to now..._

Normally, thinking about going home and having to entertain a guest was not on the list of Axel's favorite things to do. In fact, living secluded in the woods often meant no visitors at all, a fact that Axel appreciated greatly. But somehow, despite the stereotype of royalty being picky, stubborn, and unconsciously rude to the common folk, Axel felt himself actually looking forward to sitting down to a quiet, humble meal with the young prince. And it would indeed be humble, whether Roxas liked that or not.

The redhead chuckled at the thought as he finally reached his home, drawing the key out of his pocket to unlock the door. There didn't seem to be any candles lit in the whole place; obviously there was no fire burning in the hearth either. Which explained the distinct chill as Axel stepped through the door, shivering as he decided that for once he would keep his cloak on.

"I'm home!" he called loudly, looking down the empty hall as his eyebrow slowly raised. "Roxas?"

The room remained dark and silent. Even as Axel's eyes adjusted, he reached for a candle on the table nearby and spoke a soft spell over it. A tiny flame popped into being just at the end of the wick, and Axel held the base firmly as he kicked off his boots and made for the living room. The couch was empty, and for a moment the redhead worried that leaving a strange boy alone in his home may not have been the best idea.

"Roxas?"

As calmly as could be, the boy walked toward the kitchen, as he slowly became aware of a soft little noise just up ahead. When he finally reached the tiny room, Axel stepped in cautiously and lifted the candle, preparing to strike should the need arise. But then, as the darkness parted away from the light of his candle, the redhead smiled warmly at the sight that greeted him.

Roxas was lying half across the small kitchen counter, his head resting on his arms and tilted slightly towards Axel. The sound he had been hearing was apparently the little blond snoring; it only sounded a little strange because the boy was still recovering from his illness. He shivered a little in his sleep, and looked a little too pale for Axel's liking.

Nodding to himself, the redhead left quietly, but returned a moment later with a thick, woolen blanket, as well as the now cold soup that had been hanging over the fireplace. He set that in the sink before draping the warm cloth over Roxas's shoulders lightly, chuckling a little as the blond sighed in his sleep. With that, he lit a few more candles, then came back and gently shook Roxas by the arm.

"Roxas..." he whispered, "Wake up, kid..."

There was a soft groan, and a few blond spikes ruffling as the head turned to face him, blue eyes blinking groggily.

"Uhn...Axel?...What...What is it?"

The redhead smiled kindly. "You should eat something. From the look of the soup, you haven't touched it all day."

"O-Oh..." The boy looked down, guilty. "I'm sorry..."

"It's okay. Don't worry about it this time. Just remember that I'm not really made of money, so we need to make use of everything we've got."

Roxas bit his lip, still looking away. "Okay..."

The blond stood up slowly, stumbling a little because of how sleepy he was. Axel let him lean heavily on his shoulder as he figured things out, and while Roxas was still distracted by that, the redhead finally noticed how warm the boy felt. It wasn't that same sickly warmth he had felt earlier, but more of a nice, pleasant, friendly warmth.

So okay, maybe there _were _a few perks to having a guest...

A light tap on his shoulder pulled him out of his thoughts, and green eyes looked down into deep, deep blue.

"Axel?" The blond head tilted to the side in question. "You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just great, actually..." he said, stepping back and stretching out his back again. Just like before, it cracked loudly. "Work can be real murder on the bones out here, Roxy..."

An indignant snort followed. "_Roxy_?"

The redhead grinned back, walking over to the cabinet were all of his soups were contained. "I like it! It has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

Another snort. "You make me sound like a prostitute."

"Hardly," Axel chuckled back. "Although you do have the face and figure for it."

A scowl crossed Roxas's face this time. "Says Mr. Curvy Manhips over there..."

"Hey! I got these babies from my mom, thank you very much!" Axel then bent down, despite the little aches it caused him, and began rummaging through the little cabinet. It wasn't long, however, before he noticed something rather odd...

"Roxas?"

The blond turned to him slowly, still not looking very amused.

"What?"

"Were you messing around in my cabinets today or something? Everything looks...neat..."

Roxas scratched the back of his head sheepishly, hoping he hadn't crossed the line by doing a good deed.

"W-Well, I went to get a bowl earlier, and the cupboards and drawers were all filthy! I'm kind of a neat-freak, you see, and well...I thought that maybe I could help you out a little. Make everything look nicer and easier to find...so..." And he looked away, feeling a slight blush tinting his once cool cheeks.

Axel gaped a moment in disbelief, getting up quickly and checking out the rest of the house. Sure enough, everywhere he went, even his bedroom, everything was clean and nearly spotless. He was amazed to think that a boy who could barely walk this morning had somehow managed to clean the whole inside of the house from top to bottom, especially when Axel himself thought that cleaning was, by far, the most obnoxious and pointless chore he ever had to undertake. Everything he ever cleaned or washed would always getting dirty again, sooner rather than later...

"Wow, kid...Just, wow..."

Roxas appeared beside him a minute later, still clutching the blanket around his shoulders against the chill. His blue eyes were searching Axel's face with a slight nervousness; looking for approval.

"Was that okay? I mean, I left everything where it was and all, and I didn't go through your closet or anything. I just...wanted to help out a little, and I knew I wouldn't be able to do much like this, so I..."

And to his surprise, as he stuttered out a bit more, Roxas found warm arms around him once more, this time lifting him up into the air and whipping him back and forth like a rag doll. The blond squeaked at the sudden crushing hug, and even felt a little nauseous as the world spun beneath him. But soon enough, he was back on his wobbling feet again, as a warm voice chuckled in his ear.

"You really _are _something, Roxy," Axel said, smiling down at him with a big, wide smile. "I can't remember the last time the floors were clean enough to eat off of!"

And in that brief moment, Roxas was captivated by that face; by the strange but elegant tattoos that rested just beneath his gleaming green cat eyes, By the red hair the spiked much like his own, but longer and billowing out behind him like a regal lion's mane. And now by this sweet smile, this little kind gesture that made him forget, if only for a moment, everything that had happened or would happen. Just for a moment...

And then it was gone again...

"Don't call me Roxy!"

"Well, what would you prefer? Shortie? Shrimp? Pipsqueak?" Axel asked, his tone serious but his eyes betraying the laughter there.

Roxas growled back, shoving away and stomping back towards the kitchen.

"Why can't you just call me 'Roxas?'" he muttered to himself. He either forgot Axel was listening, or he just didn't care. But the redhead smiled after him, laughing at how young and cute the pouting prince was before following him back in to restart his original quest.

"Okay, so...we have soup...canned beans...uh...more soup...more beans...and uh...more soup," Axel said, as he turned to look back at Roxas, blushing a little. "It's not much, but take your pick..."

Roxas sighed loudly, before his grouchy face reverted to a small smile.

"Whatever you're having is fine..."

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The time passed quickly, and the soup was very nourishing, but soon Roxas found himself growing sleepy again. He rubbed at his eyes almost constantly now, and Axel put out the fire thoroughly before catching him by the shoulder and pointing down the hall.

"I think it's about time we turned in. What do ya say, Roxy?"

The blond scowled again, albeit with half-lidded eyes, and nodded stiffly. He allowed himself to be guided back towards the bedrooms, but when Axel began leading him towards his own he felt puzzled, and more than a little nervous. He was sure he'd seen a guest bedroom while he was cleaning that day...

"Um...Axel?"

The redhead pulled him in and shut the door, going over to his old, creaky wardrobe and pulling out a few warm clothes.

"Now, I don't have much that will fit you completely. We need to barter with a trader soon or go to the market to get you some clothes that fit right, but for now I can give you these. They're nice and warm." Then he chuckled a little. "The last time I wore these, I was a boy, probably about...3 or 4 years younger than you are now."

"Axel?"

The redhead looked up, meeting the nervous blond with a smile. "Yes?"

Roxas fidgeted, his hands twisting in the fabric of his shirt. "H-How long am I allowed to stay with you?"

Axel frowned at that, looking pensive.

"We can talk about that if you feel better in the morning..."

"Really. I think I'm fine now-"

"Nope!" Axel interrupted, coming over to him and tossing him the clothes quickly. "It'll take more than one day to get over your fever, and I don't want you worrying too much and making it worse, alright?" He then sat down on the bed and began pulling his shirt off slowly. "I promise we can talk more about it in the morning. Early, early morning," he grumbled to himself. "But, for now, sleep."

Roxas nodded and change into the clothes quickly. When he had finished, and turned to go to the door, a warm, calloused hand gripped his arm lightly, calling his attention back.

"Sleep here tonight, kid. It'll get cold at night, and that can also make you sick again if you're not careful." He patted the bed space beside him and smiled kindly. "It'll be warmer if there's two of us, and, between you and me, I _really hate _cold. And I mean HATE it."

After a moment's hesitation, Roxas nodded. That made sense. So he came over and crawled into bed next to Axel, nestling under the covers with his back to the other boy. He could feel the warmth radiating from the redhead in waves, and the gentle flow of breath as he inhaled, then exhaled. Inhale...exhale...

Axel sighed with contentment. It was sooo much nicer having someone else there to be an extra blanket! And Roxas seemed like a pretty good kid. So what if he know had no idea where everything was, now that it had been cleaned and organized so precisely? That was actually kind of nice too, in a practical way.

He was _very _curious now about why the boy was so far from home, but refused to press the matter. As he rolled over to say a quick good night, he smiled as he saw Roxas already curled up in the sheets, snoring again. He watched for a few minutes, then gently ruffled the boy's golden hair.

"Good night, _Roxas_..."


	8. Chapter 8

Yay, new chapter! I have no idea if this is better or worse, since I have no reviews yet, but I thank the people faving or story-alerting. That gives me a better idea :). Still don't own kingdom hearts, disney, etc. Although. . . . . . . . (grabs torches, rope, and justin bieber cds) I'm sure we could torture the rights out of them!

* * *

Roxas groaned softly as he felt warm rays of light beating down on his closed eyelids. He lazily flipped over so that the light now warmed his back instead, but his attempts to go back to sleep were foiled seconds later by a crash in the kitchen.

"DAMN IT!"

The boy started, shooting up in bed faster than one would think humanly possible and sweeping his now wide eyes all around the room. The shades were drawn halfway down on the windows, but golden light seeped underneath and flooded the lower half of the room, Axel's bed included. The ceiling and corners basked in faint shadows, and a chorus of birdsong, previously unheard by the sleeping boy, now flittered through the room, breaking the silence that had followed Axel's harsh exclamation.

Roxas rubbed his eyes a moment, wondering if he should go and help. By the bright light, he assumed it was mid to late morning, longer than he had slept in in a very long time. And yet he sat there, unmoving and unmotivated, as no further loud noises sounded to startle him.

Assuming everything was fine, the sleepy blond plopped down into the bed again, curling up and clutching his soft pillow tightly. He'd been too tired to really think about it last night, but now that Roxas wondered absently, he found that he actually enjoyed sharing a bed with someone else. Provided they did kick or crush him, of course; his father had been an active sleeper, so that had happened to the boy every now and then growing up.

But Axel did neither of those, as far as he could remember. His sleep had been relatively undisturbed, although he did feel the presence of a warm back against his own and calm, gentle breathing that helped soothe him as he drifted off. It was pleasant, and as Roxas sighed and pulled his legs in a little closer to him, he couldn't help but feel a little lonely now...

"Wake up, kid...It's time for breakfast..."

Roxas groaned and furrowed his brow. He wasn't ready to get up yet! Without opening his eyes, he firmly buried his head in the pillow, trying to shut out the new feeling of someone repetitively poking him in the side.

"Roxas..." the voice drawled lazily. "Rise and shine, sleeping beauty..."

The blond snorted and shook his head weakly, still keeping his eyes firmly shut. He vaguely heard a sigh and a soft clink as the voice spoke again.

"Okay...Guess I'll have to try something else..."

The next minute, Roxas was violently assaulted by little wiggling fingers trailing over his sides, digging deep. His eyes shot wide and instantly watered as he began to thrash and laugh loudly.

"A-Axel!" he managed to choke out. "W-What the h-heck?...S-Stop it!"

The redhead was smirking, leaning over him with mischief gleaming in his eyes.

"You were asking for this, Roxy! And now I'm gonna give it to you!"

Roxas rolled over, facing the older boy who was now kneeling on the bed and tickling him harder. He jerked his arm out to try and push him away, but Axel blocked it with ease, now choosing to attack the sensitive skin under his arm. The blond roared with laughter, though his stomach was aching terribly by this point and he was sure Axel had jabbed him a few times in the process.

"A-Ahhha! O-Okay! I'm up! I-I'm up!" he hollered, curling in on himself to try and hide. Axel finally relented then, pulling away from him slowly and still with that big, aggravating grin on his face. For a split second, as he caught his breath, Roxas contemplated fighting back and revenging himself on the unsuspecting redhead. But Axel, seeming to guess what was on his mind, removed himself from the bed and picked up a tray from the bedside table, displaying it proudly for the pouting younger boy.

"Well, you look a lot better this morning. Since you're up and about now," he chirped, ignoring the cranky stare effortlessly, "I figured you'd like something to eat."

Roxas's mouth instantly watered when he caught sight of the plate of food. It wasn't soup or beans, like he had imagined, but was instead made up of what looked to be scrambled eggs and an assorted arrangement of small berries and other fruits. The boy couldn't place exactly what they were; after all, very few people that he knew before had been brave enough to enter this forest, and so a fair amount of its vegetation remained a mystery to the rest of the kingdom. People always said that monsters and bandits lived deep inside the woods, scaring away anyone foolish enough to wander in...

He then blinked as Axel moved quickly and placed the tray on his lap, chatting away.

"I figured the canned foods were getting a bit dull, so I went out looking for some of the wild fruit that grows near here. On the way, I found this little bird's nest, probably abandoned from that storm a few days ago. Anyway, there were one or two eggs still intact inside, so I brought those back too!" The redhead beamed proudly, turning back to his wardrobe and proceeding to dig through it. "Eat up! We've got some time today, but that doesn't mean we just sit around! Out here, you work by the light of the day, and once that's gone, well...you'd just better make sure your chores are all done by then!"

The blond stared blankly at the food for a moment, mesmerized, before he began shoveling big portions of it into his mouth, barely savoring it at all. Axel looked a bit surprised by the noise, but he smirked playfully at the boy, continuing his search.

"Hungry little thing, aren't ya?" he chuckled. "Not surprising, though. You're skinny as hell!"

"Are you asking for a strangling, Axel?"

"No really, I'm serious!" he said. "We gotta put some meat back on those bones! Or at least help you grow an inch or two!"

Roxas sputtered and glared back indignantly, though his hand never seemed to pause as he forked more egg.

"That's not funny, Axel," he mumbled around the bits of food in his mouth. "I inherited that from my mother. I can't help it if I'm short!"

"Are you sure you're really the prince? I thought royalty were supposed to be a bit more...I don't know, mannerly?"

"Don't care. Hungry."

The redhead chuckled again, coming back over to the bed and setting a small bundle aside as he sat next to Roxas, watching him scarf.

"Good to see those etiquette lessons went to good use."

"...Shut up..."

Once the prince had finished, he sat back against the pillows and sighed contently. A few of those fruits had been very sweet and juicy, but one or two of them had tasted dry like raisins, making for a nice, diverse blend of flavors. He was vaguely curious about them, but decided that there were more pressing things to think about at the moment.

"So what _are _we doing today?" he asked, looking at Axel with a small touch of wariness. He had a feeling he knew what was coming, and it wasn't really that he didn't trust Axel...

"Well, first I thought we might have a little chat about why the kingdom's most important person is running around the woods by himself."

Roxas winced faintly. He'd been afraid of that.

"It's kind of a long story..."

"I've got time," Axel said calmly, meeting his nervous blue eyes firmly but not unkindly. "I don't mind entertaining a guest every now and then, but I think I deserve to know what prompted this unexpected visit, don't you?"

The prince watched him for a moment, then sighed heavily. He looked down at his lap, where he began to fidget with his hands; a bad habit of his when he was nervous. He told Axel about growing up in the castle, and how he and his father had been very close when the king was alive. Everyone knew the story of how Vexen had come along; it was all over the kingdom when that happened, and even in this remote corner of the kingdom Axel had heard the news from some traders passing through the outskirts of the wood. But the redhead's eyes widened when he heard about Vexen's assassination of the king.

"Really? That's insane. I mean, I've heard of power struggles before, but...ouch...if you're right about this..."

"That's not even the half of it," Roxas said glumly, still keeping his eyes trained on his hands. "Most people just said I was too young, or too upset to remember it clearly, but I wasn't! I just know Vexen bewitched my father somehow, because he wasn't the same after that old bastard came around!" Tears pricked in his blue eyes, gathering at the corners as the wave of emotions rolled over him. Pain, betrayal, anger, sadness...

"I never saw him anymore, and he never even tried to come and see me! And then that day, w-when I found him...I just..." The memory was still all too clear to the boy, and he finally broke into sobs, leaning on Axel as the redhead wound his arms around his shoulders comfortingly.

"I believe you, kid. You don't exactly forget something like that..." He patted his back soothingly, sighing as he felt his shoulder becoming wet with tears. It took a few minutes to calm him down completely, but with some coaxing from Axel, Roxas continued with his story. Again, Vexen's harsh tax laws and punishments instated in the last five years were not news to anyone, but as Roxas came to the part of the story when he ran away and got lost in the woods, there were subtle signs of anger beginning to grow in Axel's expression as he spoke. Directed at _him_ or not, it frightened the boy a little.

"I don't know when I collapsed exactly. It was dark and cold, and all I could think about were things jumping out and trying to grab me. Like those monsters and bandits I'd always heard about as a kid, that live here and attack poor, unsuspecting travelers. It was terrifying, and I-" Roxas paused, noticing that his friend was chuckling softly, steadily letting it get louder. "What? How is that funny?" he snapped, a bit hurt by Axel's nonchalance.

"Roxy," he said, trying to suppress his laughter, "Those are just some silly stories that the miners spread to keep out the general population..."

By now, the boy realized that his objection to the nickname was futile. He just sighed, looking very lost now. "Huh?"

"Well, think of it this way," he said. "A lot of the people who live out here like to-"

"Are there that many people living out here? Really?" Roxas asked, shrinking a little as Axel glared slightly at the interruption.

"Not too many, but let me finish! You see, the people that live out here mostly like their privacy. They don't want noisy living spaces or religious people always banging on their doors and what not, so they come to live out here, where no body bothers them and they can just sort of do things for themselves."

The blond looked at him curiously. "Is that why you moved out here? To get away from it all?"

Axel poked his nose lightly, causing the boy to blink. The older boy smiled warmly at him. "We'll get to my story all in good time, Roxy. But anyways, the first people to come live here ages ago became miners and loggers and whatnot. And they didn't exactly want people coming in, chopping down trees, and making a mess of things in such a nice, quiet place like this. So over the years, they've been spreading rumors to the traders, who don't pass through the deeper parts often enough to know, about monsters and bandits and scary things like that, in order to keep the majority of people out." He tapped his chin for a moment, looking at Roxas thoughtfully. "Now, there _could_ be some bandits roaming around in here, but I haven't seen any..."

Roxas nodded. That made some sense. Some of the other forests bordering the kingdom were slowly disappearing due to a higher demand for wood and the resources found in those mines. The kingdom was getting enough from them, so perhaps that was why Vexen never seemed to bother with this one.

"So that's why he sent me here!" the boy exclaimed. "Because he figured the stories were true, and even if they weren't, he could still use them as a scapegoat to pretend it was just a freak accident!"

Axel shook his head, looking rather disgusted. "That's just not right. I guessed the guy was a jerk before, but I can't believe he'd pull something like _that_! It's hard to cover _that_ up as an accident, and everybody and their grandma knows that he wants to stay in power."

"At least, if it was banishment, I could deal with that...but-"

"But that would never work!" the redhead said dismissively. "Even if there wasn't a law in place already, the people would never allow him to banish you. You're the rightful heir to the throne. Killing you quietly would probably be the easier of the two options..."

"Gee, thanks Axel," Roxas said sarcastically, looking down sadly again. "I really should have thought up a better plan. But Demyx attacking me like that...I just...I didn't expect that..."

Axel looked thoughtful for a minute, frowning slightly. "I feel like I know that name from somewhere, but oh well...It's probably nothing." Reaching for the bundle beside him, he passed a fluffy light-blue towel to Roxas, who looked perplexed as he took it.

"I think that's enough of the Q and A for now." he said simply, lifting up a light-green towel and tossing it over one shoulder. "It's nice and warm this morning. I propose we take a little bath near the base of the stream. It'll be a bit cool this time of year, but I think we both need it."

"But aren't we going to be working later? What sense does that make?" the blond asked, frowning slightly. Axel just grinned back.

"Who says everything has to make sense? It's free water out here, Roxy! And after the storm, there's bound to be some overflow. Today will be a semi-lazy day, so we can just go back again later if we get sweaty, deal?"

Roxas hesitated for a moment, but the more he thought about it, it actually sounded like a good idea. The spring water at the edge of the forest had felt pretty nice, and he was sure he smelled like moldy leaves and mud from when he passed out that night. Even without being literally covered in grime, he still felt itchy and dirty.

"That sounds okay," he replied, smiling a bit brighter as he hopped out of bed and moved to follow Axel. But just as the redhead was about to walk out the door, Roxas remembered something, small but nagging at him slightly.

"Hey, Axel?"

The older boy turned as he reached the doorway, looking back to his friend happily. "Yes?"

"Are you...are you going to tell me your story soon too?" It felt weird, telling his life story to a kind, albeit strange man he knew hardly anything about. Axel gave him an obliging nod, motioning him to follow.

"I'll tell you later...It's not all that special..."

The little blond frowned and paused again, not satisfied, but Axel noticed and met his gaze honestly. "Don't sweat it, kid. We'll talk later. That's a promise..."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Axel propelled himself into the stream head-first, in a graceful dive that ended up splashing Roxas heavily from where he stood on the bank. The boy shivered and shook out his hair, looking down at his wet clothes and groaning loudly.

"Axel! Thanks a lot!"

A redhead bobbed back up to the surface, smirking evilly as he back-stroked away from the prince.

"No problem. Now get in! The water's fine!"

"It feels cold to me!" Roxas replied, dipping his foot into the water slightly and shivering again. It wasn't warm by any stretch of the imagination.

"I thought you said you hated the cold!"

"Stop whining and get in, Princess! It feels great!"

Roxas scowled, but preceded to strip off his now slightly damp clothes, ignoring the little taunts and catcalls from the redhead. The boy blushed faintly, jumping in as soon as he was done to avoid any more ogling, but he found out as he landed that he had underestimated the temperature a little bit...

_Oh my God, COLD!_

It was too cold!

With a gasp, he swam back to the surface, cursing Axel for lying and cursing himself for getting so flustered and jumping in without thinking it through more. Damn them both! He glared around at the banks, looking to find Axel and beat him within an inch of his life, when he suddenly heard a deep whisper in his ear.

"Surprise!"

The next moment, something grabbed his ankle and tugged him harshly back under the water. Roxas yelped and kicked hard, striking out at his attacker with the force of surprise and panic. He registered making contact with _something _once before pulling himself out of the grip and made it back up again. A few minutes later, and Axel bobbed up beside him, looking pained and breathless and more than a little angry.

"Ow!...Hell, Roxas! That was...low, you...brat!"

Realization dawned on Roxas then, and despite himself, he began laughing hysterically.

"Serves you right, you creeper! Careful trying to drag me under, you might _lose_ something important next time!" All he had lost this time was his pride, the boy mused.

"Why you little-" And on that note, the little blond shrieked and paddled frantically away, as an indignant Axel began to chase him up the stream. The sun lolled lazily overhead as the two boys laughed and played in the water, and as crazy as all this had started, Roxas was having the most fun he'd had in a very long time.


	9. Chapter 9

Time passed slowly from that day on. Despite his previous hermit lifestyle, Axel warmly welcomed Roxas into his home for as long as he would stay, giving the boy a room of his own in the small but homey cabin. And Roxas, refusing to accept any more charity, even from a friend, only agreed on the condition that he work for his keep. So the system was set, and the boy became in charge of most of the cooking and cleaning, as well as a few various little chores that he chose to do for himself. He worked around the house when Axel left for the mines, and in the evenings when he returned, the two would sit and talk by the fire or take a leisurely walk through the woods. More and more of their time was spent together, and a month had barely gone by before they became about as close as brothers.

But while things were bright and cheery in the border forest, the same could not be said for the rest of the kingdom. Firmly set upon the throne, Vexen became all the more arrogant and cruel, flaunting his strength over the helpless villages and anyone who dared to stand in his way. Many men were imprisoned in the dungeons or sent to the border mines for petty debts and squabbles, and their wives and children were left to struggle without much help from the governing soldiers. The royal treasury was full to overflowing, and the sorcerer's magical stocks were piling higher everyday...

A few vague attempts were made to try and end the lord's life, but a lifetime of conniving and magical practice had made him paranoid as it was, and if his guards and the few poor excuses for court magicians could not detect a poison or a spell of some kind, _he _most certainly could. To him, these were pathetic attempts, full of ferocity and anger but lacking in real power and practice. His ascent to the throne faced little to no outright opposition, and the underlying, "subtler" attempts were easily swept aside as well.

But Vexen's transition faced one rather aggravating setback. His captain, Zack, often argued with him, and threatened that most of his men would follow, which would leave Vexen lacking the sufficient force he needed to keep everyone in line. Through several grueling, heated arguments, the old man reluctantly agreed to a few conditions. That Zack and his men would only be ordered for the good of the people, and that those soldiers would received compensation for their now extended terms of service. Vexen allowed these grudgingly, though he did draft a few extra soldiers more loyal to his cause.

One of these men was before him now, reading off a list of things shipped from the northern region that morning. He was a tall, stalwart fellow, with short, curly hair and a thick, hard jaw. His expression was relatively blank, as usual, and he said no more than needed to be said on the matter.

"...And the village of Wutanfall has yet to contribute. There have been some rumors of a rebel group massing there recently, but my regiment has found no substantial foundation for this information."

"I see," drawled the old blond, leaning back lazily on his throne. Any onlooker would say that Vexen couldn't have looked more bored by this if he tried, but in truth, that was far from the case.

"Well, true or false, you must be prepared for that possibility. We cannot tolerate disloyalty to the crown, especially at this most critical time." Wutanfall was too close to the castle, and if the rumor was true, and he didn't act quickly enough to crush the rebellion, Vexen's much-needed arms and resources would have to be sacrificed to quell the fighting. That would put him terribly behind schedule...

The burly man nodded. "I will have Saix posted there shortly. If the worst occurs, I believe he is more than capable of handling the situation."

"See that you do. But do not send all of my best men out with him; only enough to deter the people."

"Yes, sir."

After a brief exchange between the two of them, Vexen turned to the servants in the room and commanded them to leave him in peace. The maids scurried from his chambers, and the tall soldier, Lexaeus, left to discuss a changing of the guard with Zack. The old man was quite alone now, and he sat still for several long minutes, almost as a statue...

Then Vexen began drumming his fingers nervously along the armrest of the throne, staring at the wall as he pondered. Besides the news that Lexaeus had brought him, there was another issue weighing on his mind; one far smaller, to be sure, but if proved right, it would be a far more pressing concern to him than anything else.

He snapped his fingers harshly, and soon, a strange silver creature slinked its way into the room. It slid under the door, as flat as could be, then popped up again once inside, sauntering over to the throne slowly. It was grey, and shaped like a man when it moved three-dimensionally. And yet, there was something very inhuman about it, as it moved as though it were billowing in the wind, and smiled awkwardly through a mesh of metal and cloth exterior.

The old blond inclined his head lazily towards it, though he barely acknowledged it with his gaze.

"What have you to report?"

The smiled crept further upward, and the zipper that served as its mouth zipped away.

_The servants whisper, my liege. They saw that the Strife Prince lives still..._

Vexen froze for a moment, silent and unreadable as he processed this news. His haggard face then slowly contorted with fury; deep, burning rage and hatred, as his fist slammed hard onto the carved armrest.

"It cannot be!" he shouted angrily. For once, the lord did not attempt to hide his fear and anger. Any servant who might be eavesdropping outside would have heard his cry and come knocking at once, but of course they could never hear the whisper of his nobody...

"Who spreads these rumors? Name him!" he demanded. If Demyx had lied to him...

_The flower girl and the kitchen boy. _The pale creature replied. _They speak in soft whispers, yet these breaths have reached the ears of the captain..._

Once more, his fist slammed down. "Damn!" The situation was deteriorating quickly, much quicker than he could ever have feared. He had been so cautious, so sure that his plan would proceed without fail, and yet now there was hope again. Hope that the boy was alive, and it disturbed Vexen to think that it might prove to be true yet...

There was also the matter of the foolish young captain of his. Zack was much smarter than Vexen had ever liked to give him credit for, and there was no telling what the man would do with this, whether it was really a rumor or not.

Vexen turned back to the nobody, sneering softly. "You have fulfilled your purpose. Now begone, wraith!"

The creature nodded and zipped its metal mouth again, before billowing away and out of sight again. The room was quiet but for Vexen's hissing and cursing, and the man quickly rose to his feet, making his way out the door and down the hall, past the bewildered servants.

_It cannot be true! _ His mind was filled with jumbling, troubled thoughts. This was something he had only privately feared, and now it seemed to be becoming reality.

He was sure Zack would not act rashly on so little information. The nobody had said that the servant children rumored that the boy was alive, but it was fair to guess that they didn't know anything more than that. Demyx was the only one who knew the truth, but Vexen swore to have him dealt with later. This now posed the bigger problem; that perhaps the prince was still a thorn in his side, waiting to twist and fataly cut down his plans before their prime.

Vexen passed the dungeon on his way down to the lab; a small, dank room below in the catacombs that Cloud had "given" him for his services. He sneered angrily at the howls and taunts of the prisoners; in no mood to stop and antagonize them today. No, right now he needed to be absolutely sure...

He pushed open the heavy wooden door and was greeted by faint torchlight; a room of stone with books, ingredients, and many shadows. His work table was covered in paper, messy but not disturbed from when he last left it. The large black cauldron beside it was full of water, cold now due to the fire having burned itself out long ago. Vexen rummaged through his supplies for a moment and drew out a purple potion and a bottle filled with little golden hairs. He would need them for the spell to work; in order to seek and act, the spell needed a physical link to the target, of which blood was the strongest.

"Now," he said simply, using a small fire spell to light the cauldron once more. He then proceeded the pour the purple potion in , sprinkling in a single strand of baby blond hair as it bubbled and fizzed.

A think fog began to spill out of the cauldron, obscuring the water's surface for a moment as it drifted out through the cracks in the room. And as the picture forming began to clear, Vexen's cold eyes shot wide with fear and cold, relentless fury.

"No..."

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Axel stood at the counter in the kitchen, slicing away at the fresh vegetables he had found for their supper. The sun was sinking lower in the sky, and the land outside the window was bathed in a soft, glowing, warm red light. As his emerald eyes drifted up and away from his work, the redhead looked out and smiled as his gaze came upon baby blond curls, tinged orange and pink by the glorious lighting.

Roxas stood several feet from the cabin, dressed only in cheap leather boots and loose-fitting breeches. He was chopping wood with a relatively light axe from the tool closet, and by the looks of things, he didn't have much firewood left to cut. As he cleaved a particularly large dead tree stump in two, he sighed and stretched widely, exposing broad, nicely-toned shoulders and back as he did so. There was a fine sheen of sweat on his face, neck, and chest, and the effect made his skin almost seem to glisten, similar to the glow of leaves and flowers sparkling with dew in the morning light. But the little blond was oblivious to all but his work, uncaring that his simple act of working was becoming more and more distracting to his red-headed friend.

It was a strange thing to admit to himself, but Axel couldn't deny that he was beginning to fall for Roxas. It was going slowly, and had been unintentional at first; but the older boy was charmed by Roxas's quiet, thoughtful nature. How he had refused to stay unless he could earn his keep, and how he always did more than expected of someone his age and stature; someone born and bred to command others, and yet surprisingly humble. How he worried so much for the sake of his friends and his people, and how he smiled so brightly and laughed was he was truly happy. It was never forced, and rarely awkward; a real laugh, and a very gentle, sweet sound to Axel's ears, having lived alone for so long...

In the time they had spent together, Roxas had proven to be just as funny as he was kind, and he refused to just sit back and take an insult without a fight. What he lacked in physical prowess and strength, he made up in stubbornness, and the boy could argue endlessly, even if his argument was rebuked. At times, it drove Axel crazy. At other times, it made him laugh. These were simple times for the two of them, and yet they were pleasant in their simplicity; almost enough to distract away from the inevitable...

But ultimately not enough, it seemed. The redhead sighed loudly, watching the young blond as he tossed the new logs into the pile of firewood. As sad as it was to think about, he knew there would come a time for Roxas to leave. He was the prince, after all, and even if the boy wanted to, he couldn't stay there forever. The last time Axel had bartered with one of the traveling merchants passing through, he had heard that even harder times had fallen on the kingdom since Roxas had "died." The situation was miserable for many people, and even though he never shared this news with the blond, Axel could see that Roxas suspected it anyways. And he blamed himself for running away; thinking himself too weak and helpless himself to protect them. There were times when Roxas would lock himself away in his room, sitting silently and somberly as longing blue eyes gazed out the window. So obviously deriding himself for his weakness...

It hurt Axel's heart, to see him looking this way...

"Ow!"

The redhead's attention quickly went back to his work, and he examined his now bloody finger with a wince. "Damn it!" Roxas was decidedly better in the kitchen than _he_ was, which seemed weird since _he _had been making his own meals successfully for the last five or six years. Maybe it was because he was easily distracted...and a bit of a klutz...

He set the knife aside and just watched for a moment, as the blood began to pool around the wound and drip down. But he didn't notice the shadow moving across the floor until it was right beside him, and a familiar hand took his own firmly.

"Axel! Did you cut yourself again?" The voice was slightly amused, with a soft touch of worry underlying. Axel looked over to see that Roxas had come in from the yard, still in all his shirtless glory, and proceeded to lightly smack him on the side of the head.

"Hey!" he retorted, sounding unintentionally like a sulking child. "It's not like I can help it! These things are just trying to kill me!"

Roxas snorted, shaking his head. "You need to be more careful. Cut away from yourself in the future, okay?"

And then he did something unexpected. The boy lifted the redhead's finger to his mouth and began sucking lightly on the wound, cleaning off the blood. Axel's eyes widened slightly in surprise, and he flinched noticeably when he felt the blond's tongue teasing lightly at the skin, stinging only faintly. It was warm and wet and unintentional erotic; at least, Axel really hoped it was unintentional. As much as he cared for Roxas, he only saw eventual heartbreak if the both of them fell in love now. There wasn't much time left, after all...

He felt a jolt go down his spine, and his cheeks tinted slightly at the situation. He did not let the brief, uncomfortable silence last long.

"Uhh, Rox?" The boy hummed in response, raising those brilliant blue eyes to meet his gaze. Big mistake...

There didn't seem to be any flirtatious intent in them, just a soft curiosity and honesty that made Axel melt a little on the inside. Was it even possible for a teenager to look so young and innocent?

"You don't have to do that." Axel said firmly, pulling his finger away quickly. He didn't miss the look of disappointment and slight hurt when the blond looked up at him, confused.

"Did I do something wrong?" he asked, making Axel wince again. He clearly hadn't thought about the intimacy of the gesture, and Axel sighed heavily, calming the heat in his cheeks. Far be it from him to explain love and lust to a sheltered prince.

"Well, no...but-"

But surprisingly, the blond was quick to interrupt, a look of slight knowing in his clear blue eyes.

"Then...can I at least try this?"

Before Axel could say anything else, Roxas took his hand again and held it in his own, whispering a soft but powerful cure spell. Within seconds, there was a little green light surrounding his cut, as it began to mend the skin on its own. Surprised, Axel looked back to his friend.

"I thought you said you didn't know magic?"

Roxas shook his head lightly, still focused on his task. "My father taught me one healing spell, in case I was ever in trouble. It's very helpful, although it does tend to..." he trailed off softly as the green light vanished, and not a full second later, the boy found himself slumping against Axel's side.

"Roxas?" The redhead steadied him gently, holding both his shoulders and pulling him close. He watched with a light look of worry as the young blond rested his head on his shoulder and sighed. "What happened? Are you alright?"

"Drain you a little..." he breathed softly, taking the opportunity to wind his arms around Axel's waist loosely. He chuckled weakly.

"Yeah, I'm fine...I'm just really bad with magic. The spell has a tendency to sap my strength a little bit...It's no big deal, and I don't use it that often, so..."

Axel sighed and shook his head, relieved despite his now disapproving frown. He didn't really feel like arguing at the moment, and instead bent down and hooked his arm beneath Roxas's knees, lifting him with ease. The blond looked up at him, confused and a little flustered as he clutched Axel's shirt for balance, and the redhead carried him slowly back to his own room.

"You don't need to do this, Axel. I'm fine; just a little dizzy, that's all..."

"Damn it, Roxas," was all his friend muttered, pushing the door open with his hip and laying the blond on the blue, full-sized bed. His room was facing away from the sun, and as such, the two of them could see the dark beginning to spread over the sky just outside the window. The room was full of little shadows and fading orange light.

Sitting on his bed, Roxas looked like he could barely keep his eyes open; the sleepy blue orbs narrowed into a weak glare as Axel sat down beside him. He forced some forcefulness into his voice.

"Really, I'm fine-"

"No, you're not." Axel said firmly, with a hint of frustration growing in his voice. "Please don't do something like this again...or at least, not over something as tiny as a cut finger. Think before you act, alright?"

Roxas's glare fixed itself to the side of the room in a firm pout, and he did nothing to affirm that promise. The redhead felt a growing urge to throttle him for his stubbornness, but he simply crossed his arms and frowned seriously. He was in the right here, and as cute or annoying as the younger boy's pout could be, he refused to let himself show the effects of it. The stubborn prince could use the exposure to rejection; everyone had to face it at some point or another...

"I was just trying to help..." Roxas growled quietly, almost to himself really. But Axel heard it, and pointed purposefully at him, tapping the younger boy lightly on the nose.

"Yeah, but now you've exhausted yourself, and that's not going to be much help to me when cooking dinner, is it?"

The blond looked down again, at a loss for what to say there. He glared at his lap intently, even as his eyes began drooping and his energy waned slowly. Soon he was leaning back into his pillow, as Axel continued to wag his finger in in the boy's face, nagging.

"Just think about it next time, kid. I don't mind doing everything myself for tonight, but don't think you can just weasel your way out of working again, you hear?"

"But I didn't mean to!" Roxas snapped back, irritated by Axel's growing smirk. His remark was cut off by a soft little yawn, to which Axel raised and eyebrow and smirked wider.

"Stop laughing! Just give me five minutes..." Roxas trailed off, suddenly focused on how soft and cool his pillow was. It was _really _comfortable all of the sudden. And the dark spots gathering in the corners of his eyes were helping much either. He yawned again. "I'll be fine...I'll be up again in five..."

And then he was out, faster than a candle in the cold winter wind. The room was dark and silent now, all except for the boy's soft snoring, and Axel sighed heavily as he reached out his hand and traced it lightly over Roxas's left cheek. His skin was less pale now because he spent more time outside, but it was just as soft and warm as it had always been, smooth against the flat of his hand. Despite himself, Axel couldn't help but smile, especially when the boy began to nuzzle his hand slightly, leaning into the touch and smiling contently. It seemed that Roxas always slept better when there was someone warm beside him...

"You're an idiot. You _do _know that, right?" the redhead said quietly, just letting his hand rest on the boy's head for a moment.

_Or maybe I'm the idiot. One hopeless idiot falling for another..._

For some reason, that made him smile. It wasn't his usual bright, cocky grin, but carried more of a somber regret, complimented by a brief flash of bitterness in his eyes. Fate was not always a kind mistress, but he had never dreamed she would have the gaul to attract him to the kingdom's young prince. He had been a good boy; done his chores and lived quietly in the forest, not hurting or bothering anyone. Shouldn't that have earned him some points against something like this happening?

_Really, why did it have to be Roxas?_

He thought for a moment. Would things have been different for them if Roxas had been a peasant boy like himself? If he had lived in Axel's village all those years ago? Or would the redhead still have left everything, his friends, his life, and followed his mother into that unknown future?

He highly doubted it would have made a difference then. He was a strong believer in fate and consequences, and in another time and place, he could have been no more drawn to Roxas than he was to any other boy out there. They could have just as easily been nobodies; not even friends, but complete strangers, feeling nothing for one another at all. But ultimately it did no good to sit around and wonder; not when life moved on at the same pace as always, whether you were willingly along for the ride or not...

Realizing that dinner would be growing cold on its own, the redhead pulled his hand back, a touch reluctantly, and cast one last, somewhat longing look at the boy on the bed. Shifting Roxas a little, he pulled the covers out from under him and back up again, tucking him in with care. He could afford to let the blond sleep an hour or two, and he could certainly keep himself from getting any more cuts from now on, he thought with a chuckle.

Then, just before he turned to go, Axel knelt over the bed and placed a soft, tender kiss to the blond's temple. It was a very light touch, and he pulled away quicker than he had leaned in, but it was no less adoring than if he had lingered in it.

"I'll be back in an hour or so. Sleep well until then, you idiot."

And then the door was closed, shutting out all light from the hall and leaving the room to bask in the growing darkness.


	10. Chapter 10

Vexen's fist collided hard with the table.

"Damn that little fool!" Somehow, he had managed it. Roxas had managed to escape with his life after all. It was astounding, infuriating...

Drawing out the box he had kept hidden in that room, the old blond unlocked it and flung it open, staring at the old, decaying heart inside. The plush velvet was now stained with dark, dried blood, and Vexen took the dead organ into his hand, squeezing and digging his nails into it harshly.

He would have to deal with Demyx later. The old sorcerer wanted to act fast and squash this little vermin before he posed any more of a threat to his plans. He didn't know who the red-headed boy was, but he had pinpointed the exact location of the cabin and the surrounding forest.

_He must think he's so clever, the brat. Thinking he's escaped me for good, no doubt. Well, we'll see how long his luck lasts..._

Vexen chucked the heart away, hearing it squish as it hit the wall and slid to the floor, leaving a new mess on the stone. But he didn't care. The spell he was planning to use did not require a heart, or that many ingredients, really. It was a spell using his own personal element, ice, and would only take a bit more of the prince's hair to seal itself on him completely.

Too bad he didn't have any of the redhead's hair or blood, he thought absently. How precious that would be, seeing that the two boys obviously cared for each other. To take control of that body and watch his rough, calloused hands wrap around the prince's skinny throat, crushing it until no air would ever flood those little lungs again. And that bittersweet betrayal that would grace his dying expression...

But alas, some things he could only dream...

Draining the cauldron, Vexen gave it fresh water and set the bottom alight again, waiting until it came to a boil and bubbled once again. Then he made his way to the dusty old shelf nearby, littered with dust and cobwebs here and there. He brushed them aside mercilously before scanning the titles on the bindings with his finger.

"Ah yes. Here we are." he said, pulling a particularly large book away and opening it on the table. Its binding was a deep, dark blue in color, with the words "Spells of the Cold: 1" written in elegant font across the cover. He needed no book mark to find the page in question. In truth, he almost didn't need the book at all.

"Let's see. 'A dash of melted frog's eye...'" And he read off the few ingredients, pulling them from his stocks and pouring them directly into the cauldron. And just as he added the final touch, another strand of hair from the dwindling supply in the tiny bottle, the liquid turned pitch-black, and began to seep more cold fog into the room. The temperature dropped several degrees, and Vexen could see some residue forming on the bottles and vials around the room.

Stirring a red and orange potion in a medium-sized bowl on the side, the old man smirked evilly.

"Now...Let's begin..."

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Axel sat in the living room, eating a plate-full of the delicious food he had painstakingly made earlier. It was a bit of rabbit meat and steamed vegetables, which had taken a bit of planning to arrange beyond the usual soup and beans, but it had been well worth it. As he glanced back over his shoulder and down the hall, Axel only wished Roxas had gotten a chance to taste it too, while it had still been pipping hot.

Once the food was ready, Axel found the little blond still sleeping like a rock, completely dead to the world after his working and spell-casting earlier. The redhead didn't have the heart to wake him, so he closed the door and just ate alone that night, agreeing to set aside some leftovers that he could heat up later when Roxas was hungry. Axel just hoped that he would like what he made, even if it was a little cold now.

So there he sat, watching the fire dance and crackle brightly as he stuffed another bite of food into his mouth, chewing avidly. It was a little on the stringy side; he hadn't had the right ingredients to marinate it in to compliment the taste. But it was still a nice, healthy meal, and certainly good for two growing boys who needed a break from the usual.

Suddenly, there was a strange cracking sound in the air, startling Axel a bit. It was brief, and not very loud, so when Axel looked up and around, he had no idea where the sound had come from. It only took a quick glance out the window, however, to see that it wasn't just something he could ignore.

"What the hell!" he spat, seeing the glowing red light of another fire as it slowly began to consume a nearby tree. Axel concluded that it must have caught on a dead branch in this dry weather, but where had the spark come from? There was no lightning that he had heard, and everyone he knew in the area had better sense than to leave a fire unattended with so much dry brush lying around.

The redhead cursed to himself, running to the kitchen and grabbing a bucket to fill. Once it was sloshing with water, he made his way as quickly as possible back to the front door, slamming it behind him. Now hopefully he could put the fire out before it spread and put the whole forest in danger.

Meanwhile, towards the back of the cabin, the sound of the door slamming out front brought the little blond out of his deep slumber. He looked up towards his door hazily, starting to rub his blue eyes and sit up more in bed.

"Axel?" Roxas wondered if he had heard right. After a minute or two of silence, he shrugged and began to cuddle back up in his blankets. Perhaps Axel ran out to take care of something...and if so, Roxas was not about to go and bother him. He still felt very drowsy as it was.

He stared at the wall for a minute or two, smelling the remnants of supper in the kitchen and smiling faintly. He felt bad for missing out on Axel's cooking; this was probably the first time they had made anything other than canned food, and Axel had been bragging that his rabbit was world-renowned. Roxas chuckled. He highly doubted that, but still, it was nice to leave the food up to Axel for once, and he could tell his friend really wanted him to enjoy it. Maybe if he got up now, he could sit with him and have some. It couldn't be_ that_ cold already...

As much as he wanted to get up, though, Roxas lay there, curled up in his blankets against the cool in the room. He couldn't bring himself to move for several more minutes, and as he stayed there in silence, he thought about how he still hadn't heard the front door open and close again. Or had that just been his imagination after all?

Roxas leaned on his arm as he pushed himself up, looking back at the door pensively.

"Axel? Are you-"

Then he stopped, shivering as the chill in the room seemed to become more noticeable. It was unnaturally cold, even for the time of year, and Roxas drew the blankets tightly around him, looking around curiously.

"Geez! Could it get any colder in here?" he wondered aloud. The feeling seemed to be spreading, slowly but surely, and as he looked around, Roxas saw the window fogging up as well, confirming his suspicion. Maybe Axel's fire had gone out, or he had left the door open?

And then there was a pain in his heart, harsh and colder than even the room seemed to be. Roxas gasped and clutched his chest tightly, wincing as the pain began to spread up his breast and down his arms.

"W-What is this? What's happening to me?" he cried, hearing a new hoarseness in his voice. It was like his organs were freezing on the inside, halting his breath and forcing him to double over in pain, panting harshly. As his eyes creaked open and looked up, they widened in alarm as a thick sheet of ice began forming over the walls and windows, trapping him in a cage of ice as the crushing feeling in his body persisted. That couldn't have been natural!

Roxas tried getting to his feet, but found that standing was even more painful. He was still weak from earlier, and he quickly collapsed back onto the bed, crying out softly in pain and exertion. It was getting to be too much for his body to take. The blond could barely think straight as he concentrated on the crushing, freezing hand that seemed to be gripping his lungs harshly now. This had to be the work of dark magic of some kind, and Roxas let out a small, pained gasp as he realized the only sorcerer that could possibly be powerful enough to enact such a strong spell from so far away.

_Vexen!_

Fear contorted in the pit of his stomach, and his shaking doubled to the point of spasms. Vexen knew he was alive! He had to, and now he was trying to kill him off quietly in the night!

"No! Axel!" the boy screamed, but his voice was so hoarse now that it barely sounded above a whisper. It felt like a kick in the gut every time he spoke, but Roxas called for help until he couldn't hear himself anymore. With one hand still clutched in his shirt above his freezing heart, he reached the other out to the door weakly, feeling his eyelids drooping heavily over tearful blue.

"Axel...please...help me..."

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The redhead came in, sweating and tired. It was hard work, but he managed to put the fire out in time. It was really lucky that the tree in question was relatively secluded from the others, so he was able to keep the flame isolated until he could douse it. That solved one problem...

But where had it come from? There was no lightning, and something like that done as a prank was probably the stupidest, most irresponsible thing he could imagine someone pulling. Only a fool would do something that could possible set the whole forest on fire! But Axel had found no evidence of anyone out there before, and certainly nothing to start a fire with. It was quiet and empty. Very strange indeed.

He settled himself down on the couch and sighed heavily, tossing the bucket away aimlessly, not caring where it landed. He winced slightly as he heard the clang of it smacking against the wooden floor, only now hoping he hadn't woken Roxas. Even if the boy had been sleeping for a while now, with all the work he had been doing in the past couple of days, well, Axel wasn't surprised. He could sleep for as long as he wanted; there would be plenty of time to finish up tomorrow...

Just as Axel reached over to pick up one of his books, intent on catching his breath for a moment, he became aware of sudden chill that had fallen over the whole room. He shivered harshly, looking around, dumbfounded, then back at the door to make sure he had closed it properly. Then to the fire. A cold this biting almost didn't seem possible!

"How the hell did it get so cold in here?" he growled, rubbing his arms a little. Cold things had the tendency to put him in a foul mood, and he was certainly working his way there now.

Soon Axel just couldn't take it anymore. He got up and walked down the hall, to the closet where the spare blankets were kept, intent on covering himself and stuffing up every crack in the doors that he had to. Anything to warm up the place! Just as he shut the door again, holding a nice, warm, woolen blanket over his arm, his eyes caught sight of what looked like a thick sheet of ice creeping over Roxas's door. The wood was almost blue itself.

"What the-" Before he even finished the thought, he was at Roxas's door, jiggling the handle and knocking with mounting panic.

"Roxas? Roxas, what's going on in there? Are you alright?"

The door wouldn't budge in the slightest, and as Axel leaned against it, he shivered, feeling the cold, heavy ice pressing against the frame, keeping him out. He growled and cursed when he became aware of a faint voice answering him from inside. It was soft and pained, and completely indecipherable. Not good.

"Hold on, kid! I'll get you out!" Not stopping to question anything, the redhead began slamming his shoulder into the door hard, listening as little bits of ice began to crack and break off. They clattered to the floor, shattering like glass under him, but just as soon as he removed one area of ice, another would grow over that and take its place. The ice was growing thick in many places; the cracks were filled, and the ice inside was spreading past, making the wood under his feet slick and dangerous.

_This is pointless! _Axel growled miserably to himself, beginning to feel the bruises on his shoulder aching. _The damn thing isn't budging!_

Axel rammed the door harder and faster, but it never seemed to work. He slid a bit on the floor as he stepped back for another try, and almost fell back and hit his head, if he hadn't caught the door handle and held it tightly to keep his balance. There was no noise from the room inside, and when Axel called out again, there was no voice to answer him this time. There was only cold silence, broken by the occasional sounds of slamming and shattering as Axel kept trying to force his way inside.

After a minute or two, the redhead stepped back and planted his feet firmly. This really _was_ getting him nowhere.

"ROXAS!"

Aiming one hard kick at the door, he managed to hit it right as the ice was reforming. The door groaned in response, creaking as it fell backwards into the room and onto the ice, making the shattering even louder. Axel raced into the room, immediately feeling the bone-biting cold pulsing through his very being. It didn't take him long to find his quarry; the prince lay cold and unmoving on the bed, already half encased in a sheet of ice.

"Damn it, kid! Hold on!" The redhead was at his side in an instant, punching the ice as hard as he could to break the casing. First he freed Roxas's chest, as gently as possible, then his legs and ankles, quickly to beat the ice before it reformed. Once that was done, he hoisted the unconscious teen into his arms and raced clumsily out of the room, slipping straight to the fireplace in the main room.

There he laid Roxas down on the floor, as close to the fire as he dared, and looked over him nervously. The boy's skin was deathly pale, with a cold, bluish tint that showed most prominently on his lips. On his exposed skin, Axel could see bruises from the ice; all dark, angry purple marks that looked so wrong on the previously flawless skin. And, most concerning of all, Roxas wasn't shivering anymore, and Axel pressed his head to the boy's chest, feeling neither breathing nor heartbeat. Everything had stopped cold. It was so much worse than the night he had first found him.

"Roxas! Snap out of it!" the older boy barked, slapping his frozen cheeks. He growled when that warranted no response. Panic was growing steadily inside him, more of it by the second, when a sudden idea came to him. It might be a little awkward, but if it could save Roxas's life, then he wasn't going to worry about that now.

Axel tilted the blond's chin up slightly, waisting no time as he smashed their lips together. Roxas's were limp and cold, but moved apart easily for him when prodded, and Axel quickly began exhaling into his waiting mouth. His breaths were warm and shaky, nervous beyond nervous, but Axel hoped that that extra warmth would thaw the boy's insides a little. Axel only paused occasionally to catch his own breath and to press down on Roxas's chest; a technic his mother had taught him in case of drowning. He just hoped it would work now; there wasn't time to try something else...

_Come on, Roxas. Breathe. _he begged, pressing further into the boy's mouth, cupping his face tightly with one hand. _Breathe._

Then suddenly, blue eyes shot wide. Axel practically leapt away, helping Roxas to sit up as he coughed harshly and buried his head in the redhead's chest, using him as a support. Axel rubbed his back comfortingly, leaning in and sighing with relief as the main danger seemed to have passed. He calmed the hard pounding of his own heart, repeatedly telling himself that it was alright. That Roxas was alive.

When the blond finally stopped coughing, Axel propped his back up against the couch and got up quickly.

"Hold on, I'll get you something warm." He piled blanket after blanket onto the shivering prince, before warming up some water in a mug and bringing it back to him. "Here, drink this." He held Roxas's shaking hands in his own and helped guide the mug to his lips, watching quietly as he drank deeply. When the mug was finally set aside, Axel pulled him in for comforting hug, feeling himself quiver slightly when cold arms wrap around his waist.

"A-Axel...H-He knows..."

Green eyes looked down at him, puzzled. He rubbed his thumb along Roxas's cheek in a soothing motion, speaking seriously. "Who knows?"

"V-Vexen! He k-knows!" Frightened blue eyes met his, and a shaking hand clutched in his shirt desperately. "H-He tried to k-kill me! He knows, a-and he-"

"Shhh, Roxas. Calm down," the redhead whispered. "Now, how do you know it was him?"

"T-That ice magic! T-That's his element! It was-sn't normal, A-Axel! He had to have-"

Axel pressed a firm finger to his lips. This whole thing was clearly upsetting Roxas, and as much as he wanted to have his say, he was in no fit state to argue about it. And as much as Axel didn't want to argue with him, he couldn't just assume that this had been Vexen's handiwork. Magic or not, there were other magicians out there; and even if it was Vexen, he probably assumed that the job was done. What were the odds of another attack like that?

"It's alright, Roxas. You're safe," he said, hugging the boy's head close and petting his blond spikes softly. Roxas didn't protest much; he seemed to still be in a state of shock over what happened. Slowly, his shivering grew into small sobs, and his fist clenched tighter in Axel's shirt, clinging for comfort and understanding that the redhead could not fully give. He wanted to give it, for sure; but right then, neither of them had the answers he was looking for. The silence was somber, but not altogether unpleasant, and Axel sighed as he felt warm, wet tears soaking through his shirt at the shoulder.

"I t-thought you w-wouldn't come..."

"I know," he whispered, planting a soft kiss on the side of the boy's head. "But I'm here. I'm not gonna leave you, kid. Got it memorized?"

Roxas sniffled softly, half chuckling in response. The two of them sat that way for a very long time; countless minutes felt like hours to Axel, and he cherished them. The circumstances weren't ideal, but he reveled in the chance to cradle Roxas closely in his arms and speak simple, but comforting words from the bottom of his heart. And soon enough, the prince had cried himself back to sleep, exhausted emotionally and physically by his terrifying ordeal. Axel smiled sadly as he brushed the soft blond bangs away from his eyes, and hoisted him back into his arms.

The fire was slowly dying away, barely more than glistening embers now. Axel blew out any candles left lit and carried Roxas back to his room, laying him tenderly on the bed. He would be damned if he left the blond alone after what had happened, and even a quick check of the boy's room didn't sway him in his decision. The ice seemed to be melting back and away on its own, retreating from the door completely now that its target had been removed. At least the room would still be usable, but Axel refused to put Roxas back in there. No, he would have to be more watchful, more careful from now on...

He closed the door to his room and silently dressed Roxas and himself for bed. Axel winced as he ran his finger over one of the purple bruises, growling a little at it. It made him angry to think someone would try to hurt _his_ Roxas, as funny as the possessive thought seemed. Whoever tried to hurt him or take him away would have to go through Axel first, and the redhead nodded to himself as he slid into bed and under the covers, curling up beside his friend.

Axel rolled over and watched him for a long time, relieved to see the gentle rise and fall of his chest and feel the growing warmth beside him again. Every now and then, he would stop himself and wonder, 'what am I thinking?' Roxas was and always would be royalty, and he was just some hermit; some nobody who had been kind enough to give him shelter. Even if Roxas loved him back, it couldn't have been more than brotherly love. And even if what Axel wished for was true, that the boy loved him in _that way, _they would never be able to live together. It just wasn't done, and besides, Axel loved living in the forest, away from the crowded towns and busy markets. The one person he really loved to be around was Roxas...

Axel sighed heavily, rolling onto his back after a while and starring up at the ceiling blankly, resting his head on his arms. Whether or not he was going in to work tomorrow, which he probably wouldn't be now, he needed to get some serious shut-eye. There would be a lot to discuss in the morning. So, with some difficulty, his eyes slid shut, and he tried to dream of pleasant things. Like summer, ice cream, and splashing in the river with a certain sky-eyed blond...

And as the night wore on, the two boys ended up cuddled together with Roxas's head nicely wedged beneath his chin...

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Vexen was practically seething, snarling as he shoved the book off the table in a rage. In the cauldron, he saw that Roxas had managed to escape him again, and now he was sleeping peacefully, nestled up close to that blasted, interfering redhead.

"I will get you, you brat!" the old man hissed, swiping his hand just above the cauldron's surface and causing the foggy image to quiver and melt away. "You _and_ your little friend!"

He was far too tired and angry to continue then. It wouldn't do for him to be up all night and appear weak and slovenly before his people. And there was still time enough to dispose of the boy before his next birthday. With this and various plots still buzzing around in his head, Vexen replaced his ingredients and emptied out the cauldron before retiring to his room for the night.

In due time, he would have those fools regretting the day they had ever tried to stand against him...

* * *

You know who Vexen reminded me of in this chapter? Rasputin from Don Bluth's Anastasia. This is supposed to be more like Snow White, and yet I just had to make it longer by making three, count em, three attempts to kill off Roxas. What can I say? Three is a magic number. Plus, I love a good, long story, don't you? Anyway, speaking of Anastasia, the other day I saw someone do a short akuroku version on deviantart that looked really interesting. Now I want someone to do a full akuroku Anastasia-like story, if someone out there is up to the task! I'd do it myself, but look at my list of unfinished stories and see what I still have to work with? TwT Lol oh well. I might give on a try some day, but don't tempt me now! If you love me, review. If you really love me, think about it and see what you can come up with. Tap into that hidden creativity (slash laziness, because you'd be using a story that's already out there, but then again, I believe the wise shakespeare had demonstrated that there are only so many "original" plot lines and character types we can use. Seems like almost everything has been done before) :) Love you all, and thanks for ze help and support


	11. Chapter 11

The next day Vexen rose exceedingly early, surprising his maids greatly when they came knocking to clean his chambers and he was already gone. The old man made his way to his lab quickly, again, not pausing to take or rebuke the taunts that the prisoners threw at him as he passed through the dungeons. The rest of the castle would probably be awake soon enough, and he would be in and out quickly this time for sure. For now his mind was focused on one task, and one task only; to dispose of the prince permanently. Strike soon, and early, when those fools would least expect it...

As he sorted through his books again, the man began to contemplate the different types of spells he could choose from this time. To try the same spell again might be all too easy, and yet he guessed that the prince would suspect something like that happening again, and try to plan for it. He scoffed. As if anyone could plan for what the Great Vexen was capable of, and think that he would be safe from his wrath!

_No, not that spell again. Perhaps something just as simple...But a different kind of magic... _His finger traced over the spines of the thick volumes for a moment before he came across a similar book to the one he had used the night before. _Aha! Perhaps this..._

This book was bound in a deep, earthy red binding, reading "Spells of the Beast: 2" in the same font as before. It was an entire set of books that he owned, each specializing in different kinds of curses, and within each was a particular spell he favored. This one in particular could create n animal-like creature of the sorcerer's design, using the ingredients as determining features of its appearance and temper. Thinking that this spell could sufficiently toy with Roxas as it killed him was a delightful thought to Vexen, and he set the book on the table open to that page as he began setting up the cauldron again.

He poured in everything necessary to spy, with just a sprinkle of blond hair to seek the boy out specifically. Vexen frowned as he put the bottle back on its shelf, noticing that there wasn't much left in it after this time. He didn't like to imagine the possibility of failure, but if that were the case this time as well, there could be no more beating around the bush about it. It was becoming apparent that he either had to kill the boy today, or do the job without these specific curses. There was still time enough before his birthday to deal with him successfully, but Vexen had to be sure to get rid of him once and for all, even if that meant he had to go and kill him himself.

"Now let's see what the little brat is doing now," he said darkly, swiping his hand across the misty surface of the liquid to clear it again. The scene unfolded before him; it was still a bit early in the morning, and the prince was curled up beside the same redhead he had seen that night, the both of the sleeping peacefully. The old man had to resist the urge to vomit when he saw how close they were, especially when he took note of the small smile gracing Roxas's lips then.

"Oh how precious," Vexen spat, but watched intently as the blond boy stirred slowly and began to look around, blissfully bewildered. He had no idea that he and his little "friend" weren't as safe or alone as they thought...

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Roxas's eyes fluttered open slowly, under pressure from the constant stream of sunlight coming through the window. He blinked around for a moment, dazed, before the events of the previous night caught up with him. It was then that he also noticed he wasn't in his room anymore.

"Axel!"

The blond almost shot up in bed, if it hadn't been for the arm wrapped securely around his waist. He also failed to notice his predicament as he jerked upwards, his head coming into contact with the underside of Axel's chin, clonking them both hard.

"Ow! Fuck! What?" the older boy yelled, shooting up suddenly and almost taking Roxas out as well.

A minute later had the two boys looking around nervously, rubbing their respective injuries, before their eyes came back to meet each other. Axel's expression was displaying his usual bout of morning grumpiness, just looking a bit more flustered, and Roxas looked as if he were about to cry, rubbing his head and looking slightly down, almost sheepishly. The silence carried on for only a few minutes, and then the redhead's face began to crack into a wide smile. Roxas quickly followed, and the two burst into fits of laughter, feeling silly for how they had each reacted.

Axel wiped his eyes and laid back against his pillow, his arms folded neatly behind his head.

"Well, _that_ was a fun way to wake up. I'll have to sleep with you more often."

Roxas snorted, punching him lightly on the shoulder. It was just like Axel to slip some banter in there to try and lighten the mood. All silliness aside, he was glad to see that everything was still in one piece...

But for how long? Vexen knew he had survived the first time. He probably knew he'd escaped again. Roxas had a feeling he wasn't going to give up any time soon. Was there no safe place for him now, if Vexen could always find him and send his spells after him? The boy sighed heavily, flopping back down beside Axel, who watched him curiously through one eye.

"You're still thinking about last night, aren't you?"

The blond nodded, trying to let the exasperation just slid off. Oh course he was still thinking about what happened! It was hard to brush off a life-threatening experience like that and act like nothing happened!

"I know it's him," Roxas said simply, as he looked up at the ceiling. He rubbed at one of the purple bruises on his arm, wincing faintly. "He's not going to quit, Axel. He'll keep coming back to finish the job, and that puts you in danger too."

"First of all," Axel replied, sitting up now and looking down at him calmly, "I'm not going to let you run off into danger by yourself. If you can't even take care of yourself in a-"

"It wasn't my fault!" That had actually hurt his pride quite a bit. "It's not like I could do anything against th-"

"Exactly. Which is why I'm staying with you. If I'm around, there'll be less of a chance for you to get killed." Axel stared firmly back at him, meeting his gaze challengingly, until Roxas finally sighed again. Axel was his perfect match in stubbornness; there was no way to win if he had his mind set on this already. Having conceded thus, the young blond began to think hard.

"That leaves us with several problems. We can't leave here because we have no where else to go, and without you working at the mines anymore, we'd have no money for..." The blond paused, giving his friend a curious look. "...Speaking of which, aren't you supposed to be there now?"

Axel smiled back. "Guilty as charged. And I don't think we should go anywhere. At least, not yet."

"Axel! Why would you do that? You know how Xaldin gets when you skip out!" Roxas snapped, jabbing a finger into his chest. Deep down, he felt guilty because he knew that the only reason Axel had stayed behind was for him. Despite how well he was taking everything, his friend had to be just as nervous as he was.

"It's alright, Rox. Really," the redhead replied, ruffling the younger boy's hair reassuringly. He chuckled when Roxas batted his hand away, still firmly pouting. "It's not gonna kill me. Besides, I wanted to make sure you were okay. It didn't seem like a good idea to leave you alone so soon after last night."

The blond's look melted away into one of guilt and somberness, and he looked down at his lap and muttered, mostly to himself.

"You didn't have to do that..."

A warm arm wrapped itself around his shoulder, and soon Roxas found himself in a tender hold, with a firm but not unkind face looking back at him. He swallowed just a bit nervously.

"Yeah...But I wanted to," Axel said, and when the blond looked into his eyes, he saw nothing but the truth. "You're my friend, Rox, and I'm not just gonna let you try and tackle this all on your own."

Despite his protests, Roxas let himself relax in Axel's arms, enjoying the feeling of comforting hands rubbing gently at his back and shoulders. He sighed, letting his eyes slip shut and his worries slip away, if only for a minute. That felt nice. Although his cheeks flushed a little at the soothing gesture...

In the back of his mind, something was yelling at him, asking what he thought he was doing; but there was a slightly louder, more pleasant voice telling him that this was okay. Axel really cared about him. He just wanted to help.

Roxas still felt confused, and now that he had a moment to think, he distinctly remembered the redhead kissing him last night. Not just that he had woken up to Axel bent down, towering over him while giving him mouth to mouth, but he had felt the faint tingling on his forehead from where Axel's lips had touched briefly. Axel had kissed him, however sweet and brief it was. He raised a hand to it now, touching the spot and starring off pensively. Did that mean that he...

Just beside him, Axel didn't seem to notice his thoughtful gaze. "I'm still going to have to work, but I'll stick closer and try to come home sooner so that you can-"

No. Whatever this feeling was, it _wasn't_ right. Couldn't be right. Roxas couldn't accept those feelings from his friend, if they were true, and regardless, he certainly didn't need to be babied. He had proved himself more than capable in the past month, at least in _his_ opinion, and he didn't appreciate being treated like he was too delicate; too_ pathetic_...

"No Axel!" The blond turned to him angrily, slapping his hands away. When the redhead gave him a confused and slightly hurt look, Roxas simply shook his head and stood up.

"I'm not just some helpless girl, and I refuse to let you throw everything away just to babysit me! I can look after myself just fine while you work!"

Now it seemed to be Axel's turn to get angry. He looked back at Roxas with a small scowl, still speaking fairly calmly, although his voice had definitely raised. In fact, it was that very sense of calm, with a storm of anger brewing just beneath, that scared him. Like that day, not a month ago...

"Well that's not what I saw last night. In case you've forgotten, Roxas, I had to drag your frozen body out of there and resuscitate you, or you would have died! Now, maybe that was just a little slip up of yours, but what if something worse comes the next time? Or even the same spell? It's obvious that with the right timing that that one would do you in quite easily!"

"Well, _excuse me _for not being able to sense magic spells! I told you, Axel! I'm not that great at that! Are _you _any better? Because if you aren't, then Vexen could just as easily pick us off one at a time, and then you'd be just as _helpless_ as me!"

The redhead growled. "If he thought I would be a problem, then why didn't he just kill me directly last night? He can curse you directly, but I was able to break through!"

"WELL, WHAT COULD _YOU _DO ANYWAYS? YOU DIDN'T COME WHEN I NEEDED YOU! WHAT IF YOU HAD BEEN TOO LATE, HUH? IF HE CASTS ANOTHER SPELL, I COULD JUST SUFFOCATE IN MY SLEEP AND YOU WOULDN'T FIND OUT UNTIL MORNING!"

Roxas yelled this last bit, as angry tears welled in his eyes. He couldn't lie; he'd been so scared that night that he was going to freeze and die alone, and never see his friends or his people again. Never see Axel again. It hadn't been Axel's fault, but Roxas couldn't help but feel a little hurt that the older boy wasn't there when he needed him. Especially _now _that he wanted so much to be there for him now...

What _if_ Axel had come too late? As much as he hated to admit it, he still felt weak before Vexen's power. His fist clenched at his side tightly, quivering a bit as he starred defiantly back at his friend. What if _he_ still couldn't do anything? Was he doomed to live in fear, just waiting for the next attack that would put an end to him?

Axel's face flashed briefly with rage and sorrow before coming back to that cold, quiet scowl. There was hurt in his eyes, and it pained Roxas to see, but he wasn't going to take it back. It wouldn't help, and besides, it was the truth.

"Fine. You think you'll be better off on your own? Be my guest. Get yourself killed for all I care. Now I've got work to do." And with that final quip, the redhead was out of bed and dressing silently, giving the young blond the cold shoulder the entire time. Roxas scoffed and stomped out of the room, letting the door slam behind him without another word.

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Vexen smirked maliciously as he watched the two arguing back and forth, before the prince finally stormed off. Perfect! They were angry and hurt, and now was the perfect opportunity to strike!

He watched as the redhead left, walking off and beyond the cauldron's range of view, and immediately began tossing in ingredients, not caring as they rippled and distorted the scene before him.

"A little wolf hair for ferocity," he practically sang, sprinkling a few grey hairs into the concoction. "And sharp teeth to bite and tear. The scent of royal blood will be your bait..."

Now the prince was alone, and this beast would corner him before that blasted redhead could interfere. He would get Roxas this time...

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_What does Axel know anyways? _

The boy stomped his way to the closet where the cleaning supplies were kept and immediately began busying himself by cleaning up the kitchen. It had been left slightly dirty; in light of what happened, Roxas assumed it just slipped Axel's mind to take care of the dishes and left-out food. He grimaced as he saw a couple of ants scuttling about, and convinced himself that this needed to be done now. Any excuse to avoid going back to his or Axel's rooms a little while longer was welcome, so the young blond started scrubbing away, dumping what could no longer be used and making sure everything else was clean enough to be put away.

A few minutes later, Roxas heard the front door slam. Despite his usually calm demeanor, Axel had to be fuming; he'd skipped on getting something for breakfast; and the biggest teller of all, he hadn't said goodbye. Not one word.

Axel was skinny enough as it was, so Roxas had to stay on top of him, always making sure he had something to eat in the morning and then pushing him out the door with something nice for lunch packed neatly away in his bag. The boy sighed heavily, now worrying that the redhead wouldn't be able to work as well as he usually did, without something to keep him going throughout the day. And despite his anger, he was a bit stung by Axel leaving so abruptly, not even giving him a chance to wish him a good day at work, and to stay safe and come home in time for supper like he always did...

Roxas threw down the sponge and starred at it intently, not moving from his spot on the floor. Tears were burning in his eyes even as he tried to let his mind wander, and he watched as one rolled down his cheek and fell, leaving a small, wet spot on the floor. Axel had always been kind to him and did things for him all the time, even when he didn't have to. The blond felt angry, indignant, and terrified, but now the thing he felt the most, and what stung the most, was his guilt. He had hurt Axel...

_"...You think you'll be better off on your own? Be my guest. Get yourself killed for all I care..."_

Did Axel hate him now? The boy sat on the floor for a few moments, letting his tears fall and break the silence of the morning. The sunlight was brilliant as it shone through the kitchen window, and it stung his eyes a little more when he looked up at it. His eyes then moved around the room and landed on the garbage bin, seeing that there was quite a lot of food from supper that had ended up there. It made Roxas feel worse to think that now they had let all of that go to waste, but even more so because it was _Axel's; _yet another thing he had done for him that Roxas failed to appreciate. He sniffled sadly, shaking his head a little.

Dwelling on his mistakes wasn't going to do him much good now. After a moment to wipe his eyes and compose himself, Roxas got up, deciding he would go find Axel and apologize. He'd take him some food too, to help ease his welcome a little bit. Surely that would smooth things over between the two of them!

Roxas instantly set about putting everything away quickly, preparing a simple, but delicious meal to take to his friend. He moved with a newfound purpose and vigor, all the while thinking of something to say that might make things better for the two of them. At one point he was so distracted by this that he ended up cutting his index finger, yelping when he caught sight of the small trickle of blood flowing from the cut. He mentally berated himself for trying to do so much at once, but he couldn't help it. He was nervous!

In the end, he simply stuck that finger in his mouth, sucking it lightly as he finished up, and left it unbandaged even as he sped out the door. He was so caught up that he barely even noticed.

The path was well-tended in terms of most forest paths, but the miners had gotten lazy in more recent months. Now, there was a fair amount of grass and moss growing over the stones, tickling the bottoms of Roxas's feet as he jogged along. The boy laughed a small, breathless laugh as he thought about it. He had been in such a hurry, thinking he could catch up to Axel easily if he ran, that he hadn't really bothered to change or even throw on a pair of boots before he left! That would have been the silliest thing back at the castle...

Oh well. It was a relatively nice day, and the weather, living so close to the mountains, made it so that the day could be warm and pleasant, and the night could be cold and unforgiving. He would be back in plenty of time, and the sun was cooperating. It could be weird sometimes though; raining on one side of the mountain and perfectly clear on the other.

The little blond finally had to slow down after a few minutes; he was beginning to lose track of the path, and there was still no sign of Axel anywhere. He must have been pretty sore indeed to be walking so fast. Or maybe he just didn't want to be any later than he had to be. Roxas couldn't guess. He looked down at the ground glumly as he walked. Either way, it was his fault.

_Ugh! Focus! _he thought, mentally slapping himself. _Just gotta keep walking until I reach the-_

It wasn't until he walked right into a tree, yelping and rubbing his head indignantly, that he realized he must have taken a wrong turn on the path somewhere. He didn't really recognize the area at all. It looked like some kind of clearing, filled with scattered large rocks and occasional trees, and backed by a huge cliff wall.

He wandered around for a moment, taking a look at everything as he tried to regain his bearings. But it wasn't long before Roxas gave up again, sighing as he settled himself down on one of the large stones, his back to the rocky wall. He set the small parcel of food he'd made beside him and picked up a small stone that had been under his foot, chucking it across the field absently.

_Great. Now I'm lost. _Another deep sigh as he lowered his head in defeat. _Now Axel's gonna be even angrier..._

He knew that deep down, Axel still cared a lot. They had both said some things when they were angry and worried, but Roxas couldn't bring himself to hate Axel, and he was hoping that it was the same for the redhead. Maybe he cared more than he should; there was still that unanswered question about how Axel felt about him. Was he just Axel's little brother, or was he something more? Was there something to that playful banter after all?

Roxas pulled his legs up toward his chest and hugged them tightly, resting his head on his knees and groaning. What was he supposed to do now? Wait for someone to come and find him? Or should he risk getting even more lost and try to find his way back? As he looked at the surrounding area with blank eyes, thinking hard, Roxas's gaze came to a dead stop on one particularly large rock sitting over by the bushes on the other side of the clearing. He blinked for a moment, swearing he had seen something glowing and red on it just a moment ago. He watched it for a minute longer before continuing his thoughts. There had to be a way out of there somehow...

Suddenly there was a rustle of grass and brush, and Roxas whipped around, startled, to find two glowing red orbs now looking down on him from high above. Then he noticed the dark grey fur, and saw that it wasn't a boulder standing before him. The creature starred at him a moment before opening a large, razor-toothed maw and letting out an ear-splitting roar that seemed to shake the whole forest to its very core. Roxas's heart dropped like a rock into his stomach, and his face went sheet-white as he screamed in terror.

"AHHHHHHHHHH!"


	12. Chapter 12

Warning: this chapter is a little darker, methinks. a bit bloody, I mean. No sexy times, of course, but if throw up or the image of bloody wounds bother you, just saying, "ye have been warned." And some of you may laugh, but there ARE people out there. I had a roommate once who was squeamish at the mere mention, sounds of, etc of throw up...so when I got sick that one time with a bad stomach flu...eywwwww...I felt bad, and I was the sick one! TwT

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Roxas had no time to avoid as a giant paw raised above the creature's head, and the next thing he knew he was flying through the air. He landed on his back in a cluster of bushes close to the cliff wall, yelping at the impact. He was quick to sit up again when he heard another earth-shattering roar, and looked down at himself, noticing many new cuts and scratches on his arms and legs. None too deep, thankfully, but it was still very shocking to the boy. He then became aware of a burning sting along his cheek, and touched the spot gently, wincing as he drew his hand back and saw a bit of smeared blood on his fingers.

The monster was charging at him again, its red eyes wild and strangely focused. Roxas gasped and scrambled out of the brambles as fast as he could, ignoring the stinging and tugging as he got shakily to his feet. Panic began to flood his thoughts, and the only plan he could come up with to help himself was that whatever happened, he could not let that thing trap him with his back to the wall.

_What the- what the hell IS that thing?_

Roxas took off running into the clearing, dodging the large rocks on his way as best he could. When he looked behind him, he could see that the monster was clearly slower than he was; but it was larger and took longer strides to make up for the distance. It also swung two huge, powerful arms out from its sides, smashing rocks and trees and anything else that tried to separate it from its prey.

_So hiding won't do me any good... _the boy thought as he ran, lifting the hand with the still-drying blood up so that he could see it. _He'll destroy everything in his path, and he'll probably smell this..._

He tried to think rationally about what to do, but having negated those two options he was quickly running out of ideas. Not to mention out of time. The thing was gaining on him fast, and soon the clearing had folded neatly away into a sea of trees before him, forcing him to go slower as he picked his way over tree stumps and rocks carefully. The space to move was much narrower here than in the open, but the creature was large and frenzied. Even if it was quite tall on two legs, the thing looked like it would plow the whole forest down trying to get to him. And as the adrenaline pumped through his veins, making his heart beat faster by the minute, Roxas really believed it would.

The boy finally had to slow down a bit and catch his breath, panting hard as he rested his hands on his knees. Just as he'd thought, the creature was a little further back now, but still gaining fast; his claws slashed and gnarled the wood as he fought it like a starving dog. Roxas had never seen a beast like it before; not even the exotic animals at the traveling fairs and festivals had ever looked _that _strange. Its grey fur reminded him vaguely of a wolf, and yet when it stood up tall on two legs like that, towering with its huge body, it looked more like a bear. Its red eyes were narrow and cat-like, unnaturally so, if Roxas could call any part of it _natural, _and a snout like that of either a fox or a lynx. It was like some colossal mix of different animals; an experiment that went horribly wrong somewhere earlier in the process, and the scientists just didn't care enough to stop...

Then it hit him. Was this also Vexen's doing? What natural force of nature could have possibly spewed out this monstrosity? That had to be it! And, once again, Roxas was alone and completely unable to defend himself.

The young blond banked hard to the left, cursing at himself and wishing there was something he could do besides run. What a way to prove Axel's point!...Wait...

"SOMEBODY! ANYBODY! PLEASE HELP!" he cried loudly, looking around wildly for any evidence of human dwellings. There were other people besides him and Axel living there, so where was everyone?

"AXEL!"

Chancing a quick look-back, Roxas gasped as the creature bounded closer. He couldn't believe it! The thing was now on all four legs, looking like a bloated wolf as it chased him down, snarling loudly. Roxas scrambled to get away, eyes widening in disbelief when he realized he was actually coming back towards the wall.

"NO! GET BACK! GET AWAY FROM ME!" he yelled at it angrily, even more breathlessly now. As he came face to face with the wall, he banked another left, making a screeching sharp turn as the monster almost kept running by without him. The beast noticed one second too late and slammed right into it, growling as several small stones rained down on it from above. A small crack had been left in its wake, and it shook its head wildly, shaking it out before clambering off to follow Roxas again.

The boy was running parallel to the wall now, placing one hand on it as a balance when he hopped over large obstacles and particularly gnarled tree roots. He didn't know how he managed it, but he had almost made it back to the clearing by the time the thing was gaining again. But that didn't help much to life his spirits.

_It's no use...I can't outrun him forever..._

He wondered if there was something around that could help him fight. The trees were relatively dry lately, which could mean brittle branches that would break off easily for him to use. Then again, Roxas was almost sure that the creature would break them in half just as easily; they wouldn't be able to withstand a hard smash to the head, or anywhere else on that beefy body. He wouldn't be able to lift any rocks big enough to do real damage, so what did that leave him with? Just running until the thing finally caught him? He had to find help before that happened. Preferably someone with a bow or a sword...

"Ah!"

Just as he was about to step into the clearing, Roxas felt his foot stub on a particularly hard tree root. The impact wedged his foot underneath it awkwardly, making him stumble before he could catch himself in time. The little blond yelped as he hit the cold dirt, spitting out a nice clump of it as he looked up, then back. His eyes widened to see the monster not a few yards behind him, and waisting no time to catch up with him now.

"NO!" As he began scrambling to his feet again, Roxas howled in pain and was forced back down immediately, his leg crumpling under his own weight. There was a big purpling bruise forming on the side of his left ankle, and Roxas clutched it lightly, wincing when he tried to move it much at all. Even though it was almost pointless to try, the boy began crawling back towards the clearing, pulling himself along and just praying that something would stop the huge monster from reaching him...

But nothing did. Before Roxas had even crawled a full foot the beast was on top of him, literally pressing him down hard against the ground with a paw on his back. He yelped, feeling a tree root now digging harshly into his stomach, but the beast was too strong. The boy couldn't buck him off, and he couldn't move an inch.

Suddenly there was a hiss of air, and Roxas let out a strangled cry as he felt jagged claws rip into the flesh of his back, leaving several long, bloody cuts on the exposed skin. His eyes watered with the sheer, unrelenting pain, as the wounds actually felt like they were burning him. He could feel the warm blood oozing down the back of the remains of his shirt, and it burned...

He shivered in terror as the thing roared again, this time just a bit above his ear. He'd never dreamed that he could feel this much pain before, and now, even as he was surely about to die, it was all he could really focus on. The beast had torn through his flesh as if it was paper, and Roxas abruptly began to cough up blood, hacking harshly as an image of a gaping hole and bloodied bones came to his mind. It had to be a horrible picture.

He gasped for air as the vile stuff finally left his mouth, only to cringe in disgust because he was trapped in place.

Who would find his mangled body? Would there even _be _a body to find, once this thing had finished with him? Roxas whimpered and cried loudly as he felt something warm near his neck this time. It was a wet nose, sniffing him a bit before the large maw opened again, exposing razor-sharp teeth and drizzling a bit of saliva on the back of his throat.

_Is this really how it's going to end?...Oh god...it hurts..._

Time seemed to slow down as the creature began to lean forward, intent on burying its fangs into him for the final blow. Luckily for Roxas, black spots began to dance in his vision, threatening to over take him with fatigue and pain.

And he was grateful. Perhaps then, he wouldn't need to feel anything more when he...when it happened. A small, sad smile began to creep over his face, pained and brimming with regret, as he sighed with one last long, shaky breath.

_Goodbye Axel...I'm sorry..._

And then the creature seemed to stomp back a ways, finally getting off of him. Blinking in confusion, through the fog of his vision, Roxas swore he saw a mound of red just behind it, as it reared back and let a pained and terrible cry pierce the sky.

The beast turned around and began clawing at its own flesh and fur, and the slowly fading blond gasped when he saw a figure there, clinging on to its neck for dear life and stabbing something harshly and repeatedly into its back.

"A-Axel..."

At least he was able to see Axel one last time...But that meant that he was in danger now too. He'd be fighting the monster alone now!

_No! You can't hurt him! _

_"Damn it, Roxas!" _the redhead yelled, just barely breaking through to him. _"You have to get up! Get out of here now!"_

The boy raised his head slightly off the ground and shook it widely. That only seemed to make him more dizzy, and he whimpered pathetically as his vision swam.

"I-I can't. I can't get up, A-Axel...My leg..."

_"Fuck!"_ Axel snarled, sounding almost like the beast himself as he was thrown to the ground several feet away. _"Roxas, don't you die on me! You better not fucking die!..."_

And that was all he heard. Roxas saw the beast advancing on him again, but he had no more strength to stay awake. With some reluctancy, he faded into deep, uneasy sleep; his mind still crying out, begging and fighting to get back. Back to Axel...

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

It seemed like forever before Roxas began to stir, finally hearing the sounds of the outer world again.

_"...xas...Roxas...Can you_ hear me?"

The boy's face scrunched up slightly as he struggled to open his eyes. But finally, he was able to see again, and the first thing that hit him was the dark sky overhead.

"Hnn..." Roxas groaned and tried to sit up on his own, but felt far too stiff and weak at the moment. He quickly clutched his stomach, leaning over to choke out a bit of bile as the pain renewed full force, wracking his body with stings and little sharp stabs. When he finally sat back again several minutes later, he looked down to where he lay before and his blue eyes widened at the dark stain of blood that was currently drying there.

"Roxas...You alright over there?"

The little blond gasped, and his head shot around quickly, scanning the area for that familiar voice. "A-Axel? Where are you?"

"Over here, Rox...Little bit more to the right..."

Roxas obeyed and quickly spotted the redhead lying several feet away. Axel looked like even more of a mess than _he _was; pale and bloody and purple all over. On his face was a lop-sided, pained smile that barely reached his eyes, and Roxas was beginning to panic again, worried that something more was wrong and he just wasn't seeing it.

"W-Where is that monster?"

Axel smiled a little wider and gestured tiredly with his thumb, off to the side. There lay a huge mound of grey fur, stiff and unmoving over next to the bushes. It was covered in open wounds, dripping with blood from several cuts that looked like knife wounds. The weapon in question was an inch or two from Axel, and Roxas, now satisfied that they weren't in immediate danger, took a deep, calming breath, smiling softly.

"It's dead..." he said simply, his eyes filling with tears all over again. The redhead nodded and began trying to crawl closer, too weak to stand and walk on his own.

"I'm so glad...I was able to find you...I heard you scream...," He paused, his face slightly flushed with exertion. Sweat was beginning to bead along his temple, freezing just as quickly in the cold night air. Roxas noticed it now too, shivering and coughing as he watched his friend struggle closer.

"Can you forgive me, Roxas?" he grunted, pulling himself over and collapsing onto the boy's lap clumsily. "I didn't mean what I said...earlier...I just-"

"I know," Roxas said shakily, taking Axel's face in his hands as his tears began to spill out. What was wrong? He looked so weak and pained, and his face...Even last night, Roxas had never seen him this way before. He looked...scared...

"I'm sorry too, Axel. I just...Axel?" The redhead's eyes had closed, and he looked unusually still. The younger boy began to shake him lightly, his worried cries barely above a whisper. "Axel? What's wrong with you? Axel!"

It was almost dead silent all around them; the animals of the forest smelled the beast's scent and stayed well away. Even the predators usually stalking in the night could smell the blood and taint and decided to look elsewhere. But despite the unnerving quiet, Roxas didn't even hear the soft crunching; the light padding of feet as they came up behind him.

"Axel! Please wake up! Don't leave me here!" he sobbed, burying his tear-streaked face in the long, tangled red hair. He held the older boy close and as gently as possible, ignoring his own awkward pains as he cradled him. Was he dying?

"Don't go...Please don't go!"

"Excuse me..."

Roxas gasped and whipped around, startled by the unexpected sound. That quickly proved to be a mistake, as his muscles screamed in protest and sent him hunching forward and practically onto the ground. He whimpered and forced himself back up with some effort, looking up at an awkward angle at this stranger who'd approached them.

The man was dressed like an average miner, although his cloak was lined with a thick fur that looked very warm and inviting. He was a tall, thin figure, with short, almost bleached blond hair. He also had a matching goatee, which he was now stroking absently, looking down at the little prince and his friend rather curiously. But Roxas could certainly understand. He and Axel probably made a strange sight to the average passerby.

"Sorry if I startled you. I'ma friend of Axel's from work, and I was wondering where he ran of to. Thought the lazy bastard was plannin' on skipping today, when that's _my _job, so I was gonna come kick his ass back, but..." He swept his hand down, pointing at the two of them to finish his train of thought.

Roxas wanted to slap this man. He really did. This was no time to be fooling around! Axel could possibly be dying! Couldn't this man see that? Why was he acting so calm about two bloody bodies in front of him?

The boy shook his head, ignoring a raised eyebrow from the stranger. He could find time to argue later.

"Please help me!" he begged, using all the strength he had to latch on to the man's cloak. "Axel's hurt, and I c-can't carry him back home by myself! I-I don't know what to do!" He looked down then, beginning to sob again even though he knew it wasn't the best time. As he pressed his face into the cloak, he heard the blond man sigh heavily.

"I see old Axel's gotten himself into a bit of trouble here...I assume you're Roxas?"

The boy blinked, looking up at him fearfully.

"Y-Yes...Axel, he...t-told you about me?"

"Only that you're his house guest for the time being, and that he thinks you do the cutest things in your sleep..." the stranger replied off-handedly, smiling a little. Roxas stammered indignantly at that, feeling himself blush. He was thankful that the cloak was hiding his face for the moment. Now he couldn't help but wonder...How often _did _Axel watch him while he slept?

The man began to move at once, jarring Roxas from his thoughts as the cloak slipped from his hands. He watched the blond stranger hoist Axel onto his back, groaning slightly from the stress, before the man walked back over to him, extending a kind hand.

"Need help, kid?"

Although he was still very wary, the younger blond accepted the hand graciously. He yelped when was finally on his feet, his leg quivering under him and the rest of him threatening to collapse. The stranger sighed again before walking over to a nearby tree, and in one swift, fluid yank, he produced a thick, decently sturdy branch. Once Roxas had balanced himself against one of the trees, he shakily accepted the make-shift walking stick, and together he and the stranger turned to leave the clearing.

Just as they had taken a few steps, the boy blushed again and looked up sheepishly.

"Um...I hate to say this, but...I kind of got lost on my way here...Do you happen to know the way to-"

"Sure do, kiddo! Just follow me!" the man replied, smiling back at him before stepping up to stride ahead confidently.

"And don't worry. Axel'll be fine. I've spent some time around a few health centers, so I think I can handle whatever his problem is." He chuckled then, his tone deep and rich with mirth. "Might even be able to patch you up, kid!"

"T-Thank you..." Roxas replied softly, starring off a bit as they walked. He couldn't shake the worry that had settled in his stomach, for both him and Axel. The pain was just about the only thing that distracted him, and that could be quite debilitating. The boy soon looked back at his newfound ally curiously, studying him with innocent blue orbs.

"By the way...I don't think I caught your name..."

The older blond smiled. There was a small touch of sadness to it but he never missed a single step, even as placed his hand on Roxas's back comfortingly, avoiding the deep wounds and urging him gently forward.

"Call me Luxord..."


	13. Chapter 13

Hooray! I managed to add some backstory with more knowledge of FFVII than I had a year ago. Now only a very select crowd of people can threaten me for raping their favorite characters...yay? TwT

Oh well. enjoy what i got so far...and if it's not too much trouble...PLZ REVIEW :)

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Vexen was positively livid with rage. He had come so close to killing not only Roxas, but his meddling friend as well, and once again, that perfect opportunity slipped right through his fingers!

"Damn them! Damn them all!" he cried, burying his face against the splintered wooden table. He wanted to cry those harsh tears of anger, hate, and frustration all over again. The Strife lineage was made up of filthy little cockroaches; each one harder to kill off than the last! But how could that be? His first assumptions of the boy had been all wrong. Roxas was young, and even more of an idealistic fool than even his father had been. He wasn't wise or battle-scarred; just an unshaven, untried youth that barely had any inkling of the world into which he'd been born.

The boy hadn't even tasted the true sting of betrayal yet! The confrontation with Demyx had only been a mere taste of the searing pain; the unbearable anger, guilt, shame, and hatred that a single person could feel in just one life time. And for all of his honors and achievements, Cloud was little better than that...

The old blond growled, the hand beside his head almost clawing at the table now. His revenge wasn't complete until he forever wiped the seed of Strife from the face of the earth. It was the least he could do for the man who had completely destroyed his life, his kingdom, and every thing else he had ever dreamed for...

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_It was many years ago, when he was an apprentice scientist and sorcerer in the country of Jenova. It was customary in his trade that science and magic be learned, for the two could go hand in hand seemlessly if well researched and used properly. He was apprenticed in the infamous company known as Shinra, whose purpose was to develop new ways of harnessing the life energy of the land and its people. It sought to power itself, and indeed the kingdom as a whole, on a strong, renewable power source, and the men and women of Shinra worked tirelessly day and night, testing and gathering data from the numerous volunteers waiting and eager to assist in the betterment of their country._

_And though it was not specifically a government-owned business at first, Shinra was soon working closely with the reining government, under the command of a cold, silent man named Sephiroth. Despite his typical demeanor, however, the man adamantly supported the company's endeavors, also hoping to ascertain the most efficient and cost-effective ways to produce energy. With the king's strong influence and affluence, the company prospered for many years, and Vexen moved up the organizational ladder slowly but surely, finally making his way up to chief supervisor of Shinra's top priority projects. He even went so far as to advise the king himself, now and again, though of course he was never one to brag..._

_Then, one faithful day, a large amount of information was leaked to Sephiroth from an outside source, claiming that another kingdom had finally learned the secrets of unlimited power. It was a tiny country in a rich, green land, known as Lockhart; an otherwise insignificant little place reported to be weak militarily and economically. This find would certainly have been something to boost them to a higher position of power and up the interest on trade and exchange among the other surrounding kingdoms. Needless to say, upon hearing this, Vexen and his associates tried to reason with the king, to secure a treaty and search peacefully, with the Lockhart royal family's help. There would be a promised alliance; protection and other such promised legalities to satisfy the tiny kingdom. But Sephiroth was a strong, militant man. Brave and intelligent, indeed, but quickly prone to anger and violence when the subject or object was of consequence to him. And Sephiroth wanted this power source; he desired it for reasons he would never fully explain, though Vexen always felt there had been something more..._

_So without heeding their words, the king led a military assault on Nibelheim, burning everything on the way before completely demolishing the capitol city. He drove into the city like a man possessed, murdering innocent women and children left and right; so intent on this merely _supposed_ power source. But his men did not question him, for they were loyal and well-broken; and the scientists were powerless to stop the ruin..._

_Sephiroth beat, threatened and finally killed the young Princess Tifa Lockhart and her family. He found nothing that supported rumors of the alleged power source, and left in ruined state in fury and despair. But the deed was done, and he payed dearly for his rashness..._

_In his attack, he had angered the young and arrogant King Cloud Strife, a close childhood friend of Tifa's and the leader of much larger, more powerful kingdom than Lockhart. With his men now scattered and his forces low, King Sephiroth was unable to regroup and develop an efficient counterstrike, and thus, all of Jenova suffered for it. Cloud led his men into the kingdom, revenging Tifa and her kingdom with double the bloodshed; burning everything just the same. Shinra was scattered, and her workers and associates all fled in terror, disappearing into death or obscurity. Vexen could not guess who survived and who had not..._

_He escaped with his life, disappearing into the border forest until the time when the war was over. And by the time he found his way out again, years later, he found a thriving natural landscape, growing from the ashes of the once great, proud kingdom. No people remained; only plants lived on, snaking up the long-deserted, charred buildings and growing on to the sky itself. Vexen saw it all; his beautiful home and all the things he loved were gone. His laboratory was gone, Jenova's king and her people slain or reduced to pathetic little refugees..._

_It disgusted him. The acts of one foolish man were not enough, in his mind, to damn an entire nation, and what Cloud had done was, in all truth, no better than Sephiroth's actions. Vexen swore revenge that day on Strife's kingdom and all its inhabitants. In all his wanderings, he never forgot that their king was a cold-blooded murder, and as he traveled from place to place, a vagabond with no real destination, years later, he was shocked and angered to learn that that murderer had borne a son. The child of a killer, and a sure sign that the reign of misery, indignity, and blatant murder for his people, and possible others as well, would continue through that line..._

_Everyone he met in the kingdom jumped for joy at the birth of the infant prince, but Vexen scoffed and turned away, listening to the celebrations with growing disgust. He would make every last one of them pay, especially the boy. They would pay in blood for what was done to his country, his great legacy..._

_So he waited. And listened. And learned. He reinforced his magical knowledge with new texts from the hated kingdom, and set a little place aside for himself where he could practice and work in peace. When the time was right, he would appear before the king and his foolish people. He would have control of everything one day, and by god, he was going to find the source that Sephiroth had been so blindly seeking for! _

But this was the past. Now was the time to move towards that promised future; the one he had dreamed of for so long...

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Vexen raised his head slowly, glaring at the stone wall blankly, as he pondered his next move. Perhaps it was time to take care of the boy himself. The blond hairs were just about gone now, and knowing all too well that he was not much loved by many in the kingdom, he almost certainly couldn't trust an assassin to get the job done either.

So now he thought about it, wishing he could try another simple spell like the cold one and simply kill Roxas that way while the meddling redhead was out. It would be so easy, but still too impersonal for his deep-seated grudge...

And then he got an idea. It just so happened that he _did _have a very special spell in mind, just for Roxas. It would take even less than the other spells had, though a bit more time to prepare, and all he needed to do was deliver the object to the boy himself! No hair was needed, nor anything to tether the spell specifically to him; and, with the right disguise, the fool would never know it was him! As much as he hated to praise him, Vexen really had to thank his luck that the boy was so fair-minded and trusting. Simply change the face and voice a bit; that would be all...

Getting up slowly, a renewed cruel smirk stretching over his already wrinkled features, the old man sought out the last book he would need for his endeavors. Its binding was deep purple, with the words "Spells of the Dark: 3" scrawled on the front. He knew just the spell, and began flipping through the pages eagerly, his cold blue eyes glistening with malicious intent...

He would not fail this time_..._

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Roxas waved goodbye from the doorway as Luxord took his leave.

"Are you sure I can't convince you to stay for supper?"

The man smiled back at him kindly, shaking his head. "Nah, that's alright, kid. I got places to be. Just make sure you get some rest, okay? Same goes for the bum; he needs to come back to work already."

"Will do," the boy replied, offering a small smile back. "Take care then."

He closed the door slowly and stood there for a moment, sighing. Axel had woken up once or twice since they came home, mostly whining when Luxord applied the bandages and disinfectant, and to shoot quips back and forth with the older man. Roxas had stayed off to the side, watching and waiting, and he wondered faintly if Axel had really meant what he said back in the forest. He didn't dare come out from his hiding place, or even speak a word to him when he woke up; it was almost like he wasn't even there. He was afraid that the redhead would turn away from him after what he had put him through today. Did Axel really forgive him, or was he still angry?

_Maybe I should leave now anyway..._ He wondered briefly, sadly. _Axel's done more than enough for me. Surely I've worn out my welcome by now..._

Whatever the case, he was too weak to leave now. He'd never survive out there in the shape that he was, and Vexen could probably send a creature like that again at any time. Even with a sword, he'd be at a horrible disadvantage.

_Hell...Send me a bear! _He thought, groaning internally. _No need to go to the trouble making something so big and weird like that thing. It's not like I'm all that hard to kill..._

Roxas sighed. What a hopeless case he was. After some more mental berating and debating, he decided to buck up his courage and go see if his friend was awake now. Then he could ask, instead of just worrying himself sick over it. If Axel was mad, then as soon as he was healthy again he would leave. It would be as simple as that, but the thought still brought a tear to his eye for one reason or another...

He clutched his make-shift walking stick tightly, wobbling back through the house and to the bedroom that he and Axel had shared before, and pushed the door aside with his shoulder. It was very late now, and the room was dark and quiet. The young blond almost couldn't tell if his friend were awake or asleep in such low light. He didn't see those brilliant green eyes glowing in the room, but he managed to make his way to the bed somehow and stopped in front of it, going down awkwardly until he was kneeling on the floor, careful of his broken ankle. The boy hissed softly, feeling a stinging pain in his back as he bent, but he didn't want to wake his friend and thus did not try to sit on the edge of the bed.

Axel's chest was rising and falling gently, but he was unusually quiet, even from where Roxas was. No snoring, no heavy breathing. Maybe he was just listening, or thinking. Either way, the blond boy worried that it was the cold shoulder, and that pained him. He reached out uncertainly in the dark until he clasped a larger, slightly cooler hand in his own, but he didn't hear a break or change in the silence.

"I'm sorry, Axel..." he said quietly, whispering more to himself than to the redhead. "It's all my fault that the both of us got hurt. I didn't mean to get in trouble, I just..." He sighed, feeling tears pricking in his eyes again, and stopped for a moment to gather himself.

"I wanted to come and apologize. I-I didn't mean to hurt you this morning, and I just thought that...if I could catch up to you, everything would be okay again." Roxas's tone then became slightly angry, berating himself again.

"But I was stupid again. I just had to get lost-"

The hand he was clutching suddenly squeezed, and Roxas looked up, startled, and saw bright, almost glowing green eyes looking back at him. He let out a soft, choked laugh; so relieved to see that Axel was awake. They had both been injured very badly during this ordeal, and seeing the extent of the redhead's injuries, though they weren't enough to kill him, it was enough to make Roxas decently worried about his friend.

"Axel..."

The older boy offered a small, still somewhat pained smile in reply, still squeezing Roxas's hand as if it would hurt him even more to simply let go. The young blond grasped his tightly with both hands now, leaning stiffly over the bed as he spoke.

"You're awake..."

The next moment was a blur of movement, too fast for Roxas to take in. The hand that had been squeezing his suddenly became tighter, though not painfully so. And just as that happened, the blond yelped as he was suddenly yanked closer, practically falling across the bed from the force of the pull. He landed on Axel's chest awkwardly, the redhead groaning at the impact, but before Roxas could even move, mostly panicking that he had hurt Axel and feeling pain himself, an arm locked around his neck and forced his head down against that same warm chest, while the other one locked around his waist in a firm grip. He was trapped.

Roxas found himself blushing darkly and was tempted to struggle, but doing so could end up hurting both of them more, opening those meticulously bandaged wounds that Luxord had worked so hard to apply. So he decided against it, pressing his head down and trying to hide from the growing awkwardness in Axel's warm, soft shirt. There was also the slight feeling of contentment, lying there in Axel's arms, that he wasn't completely comfortable to admit...

A moment of silence passed before Roxas found the courage to tilt his head up a bit, straining to see those gorgeous green eyes and what could possibly be going on behind them.

"Um...Axel? Are you alright?" He was concerned by the pounding, which seemed too quick to be safe or healthy for one in his condition.

The redhead sighed deeply (although at their angle, Roxas was almost certain Axel was just getting a long whiff of his hair). The younger boy shifted a bit awkwardly, stopping when he finally spoke.

"You are, without a doubt, the most reckless, spoiled, idiotic boy I think I've ever met in my life."

Roxas wasn't sure whether to huff in offense to that or to simply admit that he'd been wrong. In the end, though, it seemed he felt too bad about everything to defend his battered ego. He bit his lip and whispered back softly, "I'm sorry..."

The arm that had wrapped itself around his neck withdrew, and instead a hand came to rest upon his cheek, letting him sit up better to look his friend in the eyes. As Roxas propped himself up on his elbows, wincing at the angle, he caught the look Axel was giving him and felt it strike his very core. There was a swirl of sadness, pain, and protectiveness there that made his heart bleed with guilt, but there was also a strange joy there as well, and another sort of look that Roxas had trouble comprehending. It was sweet, almost cherishing as it looked at him; it was as if he were a precious treasure to the redhead, and not just his ignorant, ungrateful _kid_ friend who kept wandering into trouble that was way over his head.

The hand on his cheek brushed it softly, the thumb hooking slightly on the side of his jaw as Axel tugged him forward. The swirl of emotions in both of them came to a head as Roxas felt his lips claimed by his friend's, and he was so shocked that it sent his already weary mind reeling from the surprise and sudden heat of it.

Axel moved the hand along his cheek, stroking it, encouraging him to kiss back. His lips moved in a slow and simple rhythm, nothing too sudden or harsh that might frighten the boy. He was careful and nurturing, letting his feelings out as well as showing Roxas just how desperate he had been. He'd been terrified of losing him; he never wanted to experience that awful feeling again.

Roxas, meanwhile, was still in a state of shock, frozen momentarily even as those warm lips caressed his own. Those confused feelings he'd felt earlier instantly returned to his mind; now he was arguing within himself whether to fight the urges or simply let them take him away.

_This is so weird... _He noticed, cheeks flushing as his lips began to move on their own. Would it be taking advantage of Axel to continue on this way, especially when he was still weak from the fight? Was he really as lucid as he seemed? The younger boy could only wonder. But as the redhead's tongue slipped over his lip and pushed inside, Roxas finally had to settle his inner turmoil, letting his eyes fall shut and leaning in to it as comfortably as he was able.

_Well, I suppose if he didn't want this, he wouldn't have started it in the first place..._

Thus resolved, his mind went blank and simply focused on the feel of Axel as a whole; his warm body pressed under him, and the feel of his other hand moving, running over his side lightly. Roxas felt a genuine care in the caress of Axel's lips and hands, and he fisted his hands in the older boy's shirt slightly, seeking something to keep him tethered in the moment. They were warm and soft and felt so wonderful against his...

Never having been kissed so intimately before, Roxas was afraid more than once that he was doing something wrong. Unable to do much else, though, he followed Axel's lead, hoping that Axel caught the gist of his feelings anyway. Their tongues moved back and forth, teasing and stroking between the two mouths slowly, for quite a while. Roxas almost lost track of the time altogether, but he couldn't really bring himself to care. All he could focus on was Axel.

He wanted this. It was new and strange, but so wonderful, and he wanted it...

When they finally broke to breathe, Axel shifted so that Roxas could lie more comfortably beside him, still being mindful of the cuts and bruises lining their torsos. His other hand moved up a bit, brushing under fabric and over the bandages on the bare skin of the prince's back, frowning deeply. And the blond watched him with hazy, half-lidded eyes, panting softly as his mind began to slowly catch up. After a moment or two, Axel met his gaze and sighed again.

"I guess I have no right to pick on you..."

Roxas blinked, still breathing heavily. "W-What do you mean?"

Axel looked up at the ceiling solemnly, his fingers tracing over the wounds on Roxas's back tenderly, carefully. "I'm just about as stubborn as you are. I didn't want to act like what happened this morning was really that big of a deal. I wanted to just let it roll off me, but I couldn't. You made a good point; maybe I can't protect you any better than you can."

The blond shook his head and opened his mouth to speak, but Axel stopped him at once, placing a finger to the boy's lips firmly.

"Don't try to say that I'm wrong. You could easily have been killed last night, or today for that matter. I came as fast as I could, but I still just barely made it in time..."

Roxas remained silent, looking at him sadly.

"If Vexen really is behind this, I have a feeling there's a reason for his attacks targeting you alone. Even if I am immune to them, though, we've already established that I can't be with you all of the time." His eyes drifted back down to Roxas, keeping his gaze serious, but softer. "I'm sorry too. I just can't help but be worried about you, you know? I didn't mean to upset you or suggest that you're weak, but at the same time, you can't let your pride judge things for you; not now. It's dangerous out there, Roxas..."

"I-I know," the boy replied softly, "But there just has to be something I can do! I don't want to see you uprooting your whole life for me, even if it is for the good of the kingdom!"

"I'd happily do it, if it was for you."

Roxas shook his head harshly, his eyes doubtful.

"But why? There's really no point! I haven't known you for all that long, and there's nothing I could ever do to repay your kindness to me..."

A finger touched his lips again before he could say more. The young blond looked up, somewhat surprised, to find Axel looking intently at him, a sparkling humor in those green eyes that made him tingle and smile softly, despite everything.

"You don't get it, do you?" There was a barely suppressed chuckle, half in humor and half in exasperation, that escaped. "I wouldn't be doing this for just any friend, Rox. And I mean, come on! If nothing else, that kiss should have made it bloody obvious by now!"

Roxas shuddered slightly, feeling a hand slide over his cheek again as Axel turned awkwardly on his side to face him, wincing a bit more this time. "You really...?"

"Yes, Roxas. I'm in love with you. Got it memorized?" A wide smirk crossed his face as he spoke, and he pressed his forehead to the blond's, bonking it slightly. "And hey, just in case you're still not getting it, let me clarify some more." With that, he brought his lips to Roxas again, just as he had before. But there was no desperate force driving him this time; nothing he had to show or prove beside simple, sweet adoration. He placed soft, gentle kisses on his lips again and again, making the quick and light, but loving all the same...

The blond boy stayed completely still for a moment, face blank and unreadable, before he laughed, causing Axel to raise an eyebrow at him.

"I-It kind of tickles when you do that.." he breathed.

The redhead paused, watch his love laugh for a moment before chuckling with him.

"You'll get used to it, kid. Unless of course you'd rather I back off..."

He only sounded slightly worried that the blond would reject him, but Roxas could still feel the hope and fear he felt behind that nonchalant mask. The boy said nothing for a moment, then placed a hand on Axel's mouth and held him at bay, merely inches away from his tantalizing prize.

"You know, it feels strange for me to say it..." He still sounded a bit unsure, though he gave the older boy a sweet, hopeless little smile. "But I think I've been falling for you too. I didn't want to believe it at first, and maybe I'm even more of a fool for going along with it..."

"Never know what'll happen tomorrow, Roxy," said the redhead, moving his hand away before pressing his own back to Roxas's cheek, cupping it tenderly. "I'm a live for the present kind of guy, and here's what I say. Maybe that's all the more reason_ for_ you to fall in love; because someday it could all be gone. At least then you have the good memories to get you through the bad times, and then no matter what or when shit happens, you can say you really got out there and lived a good life."

Roxas smiled sadly at that, letting his idle fingers wander down and entwine with Axel's other hand.

"The future scares me sometimes...But I think you're right. And no matter what happens, always know that you hold a special place in my heart. I-I...love you too," he stammered out, blushing darkly as he turned his face down and buried it in the pillow. As happy as it made him to say that, it was still pretty embarrassing!

The escape was only short-lived, however, as Axel lifted his head easily and pinched one of the flushed cheeks softly.

"You're cute, you know that?"

Roxas glared weakly as the redhead kissed the tip of his nose, feeling both his blush and his growing drowsiness spreading. All the craziness of the day was waring on his energy, not to mention his sense of humor, and he was more than ready to make the trek back to his room. Too bad Axel's arm was pinning him in place.

The blond sighed heavily and laid his head back down, willing sleep to take him away.

"If I could twist without this god awful pain in my back, you'd be paying for that right about now..."


	14. Chapter 14

"Demyx! Where are we going? Slow down!"

The mullet-haired boy ignored Olette's protests as he continued to drag her down the path. They passed the barnyard on their way, where an old, wrinkled woman with bad eyes looked up and greeted them. She smiled a crooked-toothed smile and gave a thumb up to Demyx, who returned the gesture and smirked giddily. Someone was covering for them back at the castle now, and hopefully any nearby soldiers wouldn't question their supposed shirking.

Olette still looked baffled at this, but she saw the gleam in Demyx's eye and sighed, willing herself to go along with it. She should be glad the boy was finally perking up a bit, but it wold certainly help if he told her why he was so giddy in the first place!

Finally, after what seemed like hours, Demyx turned away from the woman and motioned for them to move on, drawing a finger to his lips and nodding happily. His friend followed obediently, and the two of them walked for only minutes more before stopping just outside the crop field.

When Olette raised an eyebrow at this, Demyx chuckled and pointed to a small, wooden surface just below. It looked like an old cellar door, with a rusted handle on the top that looked about ready to fall off.

"We go in through here. Gimme a second to pull this up." And, true to his word, Demyx had the door up in no time, revealing a dark hole and cold stairs underneath.

The brunette shook her head nervously. She didn't like cold, dark places.

"Why do we have to go down there? You still haven't told me why!"

"It's because it wasn't safe at the castle," he said simply, flicking the ring a few times with his index finger. "Speaking of which, we'd better hurry before any guards come by. They might think this looks a little odd..."

_Just a little? _She thought humorlessly.

"What stupid little game have you come up with now, Demyx? You know I'm scared of dark places!" She eyed him harshly, looking anything but amused. "Is this some kind of a sick joke?"

"No, no, I swear! Listen, we need to get down there before the meeting starts!"

"Meeting?" she asked skeptically. "What kind of meeting?"

"Ugh, woman, will you please just get in there?" The blond whined, slapping his forehead harshly in irritation. His patience and good mood were already beginning to slip away. "It's about Roxas!"

Olette blinked, suddenly very curious.

"Roxas?"

"Yes, Roxas! Now get in the hole! We're pushing our luck here!"

His friend scowled for a minute, then reluctantly nodded, daintily stepping down onto the stairs and forcing herself underground. Demyx followed at once and shut out the rest of the light, causing Olette to scream and whip around, reaching for the wall frantically.

"Hey, relax!" he said quickly, placing his hand comfortingly on her shoulder. "I'll have a light in just a minute. Just think of yourself as a seed, you know? Seeds go underground all the time, and they don't freak out about the dark! It's nice and warm and helps them feel better!"

"R-Right..." She didn't sound too convinced. But soon, Demyx had a lantern out, and he took her hand as he stepped ahead, leading her down deeper into the old cellar. She glanced about occasionally at the cracking dirt walls and scurrying little bugs, but soon thought better of that and looked ahead.

"So...what is this place? Why would there be a meeting down here?"

The tall blond in front of her shrugged. "Probably to avoid suspicion. Vexen thinks the villages are gonna try and rally against him, but I think he expects them all to gather in one place. Luckily for us, old Cid used to use this place to hide his ale and liquor stores, so no body really remembers this is down here."

Olette frowned slightly. "But wouldn't that still be too many people gathering in one place? Wouldn't someone notice all the weird people filing into the crop fields?"

Demyx grinned back, looking over his shoulder confidently.

"That's why each village selected a representative to come and meet here. Less people, easier to get things done. Now, all we need is for Zack to get here and then we can start!"

When they finally reached the bottom of the stairs there was a wooden door at the end of a narrow corridor. Demyx walked straight up to it and tapped twice, and then a gruff voice spoke on the other side of the door.

"The hell do you want, brat? This meeting's fer adults only! Go on, git!"

"Aw, don't be like that, Cid!" Demyx whined loudly, ignoring Olette's startled look completely. "I've got important stuff to say too!"

"Too bad! Now get yer butt back up to the kitchen and do somethin useful!"

"No!" he said firmly, standing his ground and planting his feet to make a point. "Zack said I could stay! Besides, Roxas is my friend! If there's anything I can do to help him out, I'll do it!"

"That goes for me too!" chimed Olette, finally having found her voice. "We're not leaving til you let us in!"

There was silence on the other end. Cid seemed to think things over quickly, and decided against forcing them away, because mere moments later, the door creaked open, granting them entry into the new room.

The two teens stepped inside and gaped around. There was quite a crowd assembled there, for having only so many villages. There had to be at least thirty people all squeezed into the cellar! The walls were lit with old torches wedged into the dirt and stone, and people were scattered as much as possible, sitting on crates and barrels as they waited for the captain's arrival.

"Maybe he chickened out and ran off..." sang a thin, vicious-looking blond woman, glancing at a knife in her hand absently. 'Hmph...Wouldn't be the first time the guy in charge fails to follow through..."

Demyx turned to look at the woman angrily, about to open his mouth when-

"Oh really now? Well, sorry to disappoint."

Every head turned to the back of the cellar, and in stepped Zack, the man of the hour. His hair was dark and spiked up fiercely on his head, that same goofy, carefree smile gracing his lips. He was tall and muscular; not overly bulky, but broad in the chest and shoulders. Decked out in his light armor, the man strode confidently forward, coming to stand before the crowd in the center of the room.

The blond woman snorted. "About damn time..."

"Sorry to keep all you fine folks waiting," he said smoothly, shooting a casual smile to everyone within a four foot radius. "Now, what say we get down to business and talk about why we're all here?"

"You're kidding, right Zack? We're here to take down Vexen!" One man shouted. Several others behind him took up the cheer, and the captain waved his hands placatingly.

"Now, now...It's true we've all got a bit of a beef with old Vexen," He gestured up with his thumb, pointing to the castle. "But we can't just go around killing everyone who looks at us wrong..."

The room suddenly burst into arguments; everyone calling out at once in anger and protest.

"The bastard deserves to rot!"

"Down with Vexen!"

"I want my husband back!"

"Alright, alright!" Zack said loudly, finally looking a bit more serious. "Settle down, people!" Even with all his beating around the bush, though, Demyx had to admire his captain. He kept his temper in tough situations and knew exactly what he needed to do to get a reaction from the masses. He seemed young and cocky, but all the while he was thinking; reading people, analyzing what was useful and putting it aside for just the right time. He was the kingdom's best tactician.

"Before you decide to go running off and do something stupid, who's gonna be the one to take the throne once Vexen is gone?"

There was a moment as several mouths opened and closed simultaneously. People seemed ready to speak, but thought better of it and kept silent. Thus, the room became quiet as people pondered this new question. Who _would _rule after Vexen was gone?

Fidgeting slightly, Demyx finally spoke up. "Roxas will, of course!"

Several villagers gasped at the outburst, looking around and murmuring to each other nervously now. Zack merely sat down on one of the barrels of ale and leaned back against the wall, looking over the room with a sly smile.

"What part of 'the brat is dead' don't you understand, kid?" snapped the blond woman again. She glared angrily as a pink-haired man came up quickly beside her, taking hold of her shoulders firmly.

"He's deceased! Passed on! Gone to meet his maker! Get your story straight, ya little prick- Would you get off of me?" She tried to shake the man off, but he shook his head and held her still, looking less than amused.

Demyx strode into the middle of the circle then, addressing the whole crowd of people loudly. "I know what I said before, but Roxas isn't dead! I lied to keep him safe, so that Vexen wouldn't try to kill him again!"

More gasps followed, along with heated arguments. The blond woman finally shrugged off the man and strode right up to Demyx, matching his angry stare perfectly.

"Oh? So if that's true, then the little brat's been hiding all this time! That's even better!" she scoffed, her shrill voice full of venom. "The baby prince ran off and left us all here to die so that _he _could go make a cozy life for himself out-"

"SHUT UP! YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!"

Everyone stopped and stared at Demyx. Even Zack looked a bit unsettled as he watched the boy's fists clench and shake, his shoulders hunching and trembling with them. The normally sweet and docile blond was furious, and those that knew him best stood in awe of his blind anger. It was a bit terrifying to see.

Before the woman could retort, Demyx cut her off.

"Roxas _is _alive! I know, because I was the one ordered to kill him!" He then let that sink in for a moment, completely missing Olette's sad, pained gaze as she watched him near the doorway.

"I was told to make it look like an accident; to kill him off quietly and blame it on bandits! But I couldn't do it, even when_ Vexen_ threatened to hurt my family because of it!" He spat the name with disgust. "And Roxas wasn't just afraid for himself! He was afraid for me, for my family, for all of you!" he shouted, glad to see some guilt showing on those previously disbelieving faces.

"He knew that if he returned home, Vexen would punish me _and _try to kill him again! I had to beg him, push him to leave and hide in the forest, just so that he could have a chance to return one day and reclaim his right! He did this more for us than himself; to keep us hopeful!"

There was silence for a moment as his words sunk in, but the pink-haired man came up beside the woman again, this time touching her shoulder comfortingly as she seethed.

"Back off, Larxene," he said simply, eyes turned to Demyx with a small look of respect. "It's not worth the fight..."

"Not worth the fight?" she snarled, turning on him and slapping his hand away viciously. "That old bastard murdered my husband in cold blood! That brat should have been here to-"

"There's nothing he could have done," snapped Demyx, looking between them now with only dull irritation. "Roxas's birthday is still two weeks away. He can't take the throne until he comes of age, and until then, he's just as powerless to stop Vexen as we are."

"You say he went into the border forest," the pink-haired man said, covering Larxene's mouth as she started to spew off more obscenities. "How do we even know that the prince is still alive?"

Just as Demyx looked down in despair and the crowds began voicing their agreement, a new person stepped into the center of the ring.

"Because I've seen him."

The man was tall with short, almost bleached-looking blond hair, wearing simple traveling clothes and a long, dark cloak over his shoulders.

"And just who are you?"

The man smirked at the rising murmurs. "My name is Luxord. I'm just a lowly miner from the border forest, and happen to know that the prince is stayin with an old friend of mine. I've visited him. As of a few days ago, he was alive and kicking."

The people didn't know what was stranger about this man's words. The fact that he'd seen the prince alive so recently, or the fact that he traveled the border forest and came out unharmed!

"Maybe the rumors are false..."

"So the prince is really alive?"

"Alright, settle down people!" Zack said loudly, getting up and moving to stand beside Luxord in the circle.

"You heard what he said! We have an heir again! Isn't that wonderful?" He said the last bit a little sarcastically, ignoring the rolling eyes of some of the villagers. "Now, maybe we should figure out how to get him back here, and then see what's to be done about the old crow up there?"

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

As the meeting progressed, a few attendants still seemed reluctant to believe all of this; Larxene specifically. She was still very bitter about the loss of the man she loved, even if she knew Marluxia and the others were probably right. But how could her cousin or _any_ of these people really understand what it felt like? Her husband wasn't just taken away and locked in a dungeon like so many others! He was dead, not even buried properly! She'd seen it with her own two eyes!

Luxord spoke now and again about little things he'd heard. He hadn't spoken to Roxas very personally, but knew enough to say that something was off about things in the forest lately. There were strange killer creatures, ones that weren't just rumors and fairytales. One had apparently gone after Roxas and roughed him up pretty bad, but somehow the kid was still alive. Luxord said he had reason to believe that it was completely unnatural, something that was made by very strong, very old magic.

Zack looked concerned at that, turning back to the people seriously.

"I have a bad feeling that _someone _knows Roxas is still alive. I'll set a few of my men to keep a close eye on Vexen. The rest of you should stay on high alert. As soon as possible, I'll organize a party to go rescue the prince, and when I return, we'll formulate an appropriate plan of attack. I'll have it delivered by messenger to as many villages as I can, and once the message reaches you, you should get as many people together as you can and march with us to the castle. And don't worry about the guards in town; most of em are loyal to me," he added with a smug smirk. "We'll hit Vexen hard before he even knows what's happening!"

Several people cheered the captain on, while Larxene scoffed and walked over to the door. They shouldn't be so sure that they were_ guaranteed_ her village's help. If she saw it as what was best for her people, she'd tear up the message and never speak of it again._ It'd serve them right_, she thought bitterly...

But just then a couple of scouts burst through the door; one with a tall hair style similar to Demyx's, and the other with short, wavy blond hair in a loose cut. The boys waved Zack over immediately and began whispering in his ear, but Larxene was near enough to hear, not caught up in the chatter of the already celebrating villagers.

"He's what?"

"We told you, sir, " the blond boy said, looking a bit breathless. "The guards have checked everywhere. Vexen is no where to be found."


	15. Chapter 15

Axel woke before the sun had fully risen, knowing that he would have to go to work today whether he really wanted to or not. As his eyes slowly opened, he became aware of another presence beside him. It shifted slightly, letting out a soft groan, and Axel smiled warmly, turning to watch over his love.

Roxas lay on his stomach pressed up against Axel's side, his hair an even messier array of honey-colored spikes. The blankets were gathered around his hips loosely, and his arms were bent off to the side slightly, almost at the level of his face. The boy's head was turned slight toward Axel, and his breathing was soft and easy. Axel found himself staring for quite some time, and even though the sun was beginning to peak through below the curtains, he still stayed on his back, looking down at his lover's sweet, angelic face.

Axel rolled over onto his side, careful not to disturb Roxas, and began running his hand smoothly over the boy's back, from his shoulder to his lower back. It felt soft and warm beneath his hand. Axel pulled the blankets up higher and, unable to help himself, drew an arm around Roxas's side, pulling him closer and nuzzling his face into the boy's hair and neck softly.

_I could spend the rest of my days this way..._

He blinked as the blond snuggled closer, and upon looking down, he found two sleepy blue eyes looking back at him warmly. Roxas smiled as reached up and touched Axel's cheek, rubbing it in smooth little circles over his tattoo.

"Morning..."

The redhead's smile widened, and he whispered a soft "good morning" back before kissing Roxas's forehead sweetly. If he could, he would have stayed in bed with the boy all day, but that wasn't allowed. Xaldin had been lenient with him because of his recent injuries, but he had promised to make up the time. So, reluctantly, Axel kicked off his covers and slid out of bed, making his way to his dresser. He felt Roxas's eyes on him all the way, studying curiously, worriedly.

"Are you sure you want to go?"

Axel sighed heavily. Roxas could be so tempting sometimes. So obnoxiously, deliciously tempting...

"I have to, Roxy. I've been shirking off enough as it is." He pulled out fresh clothes for the day as he continued speaking. "But I think the real question is: are _you_ alright?" Axel looked back as he asked this, seeing Roxas place his feet slowly onto the floor. The bandage on his ankle was visible then, and the redhead noticed it was looking a little crumpled. He would have to change that before he left.

"I'll be fine," the blond said firmly, giving Axel a warm, reassuring smile. But really, he had been saying that for a while now. Axel was no stranger to injury; he knew a broken limb took time to repair. But Roxas's ankle barely looked any better. The skin was still bruised and purple, even with all the rest he was getting. It worried Axel.

"Well, alright then," the redhead resigned. "At least let me look at it. And I'll be doing breakfast this morning," he added firmly, sensing Roxas's protest before he could even voice it.

"But Axel-"

"Rox, it's fine. You do enough around here." The older boy then came back to his side, helping him up from the bed and kissing his forehead softly once more. Roxas sighed, looking up into loving green eyes.

"Fine, but I'm making dinner."

Axel chuckled. "Fair enough."

And so the rest of the early morning went by at a leisurely pace. Axel cooked a bit of fish for breakfast just to change things up, and Roxas settled himself on the couch by the fireplace, picking up a book he had long discarded. The blond couldn't help but feel a slight sense of uneasiness; there hadn't been an attack of any kind in the last two weeks. Things were quiet and peaceful, and Vexen had let them recover significantly without any disturbance. That troubled Roxas, but he didn't want to dampen Axel's good mood. Since the two of them had admitted their attraction, the redhead's health had rapidly improved, even to the point that now he was able to do regular chores again. The proof was the fish he caught this morning. It was fresh and large and delicious; Roxas savored every bite of it.

Still, that didn't take his guard down completely...

Axel was just on his way out the door, but he came and sat down on the cushion in front of Roxas, leaning in for his 'goodbye' kiss. The blond blushed faintly, but happily complied, enjoying the feeling of love and care that Axel never failed to communicate in his kisses. He smiled warmly as Axel pulled away, feeling the redhead's hand running lightly up and down his shoulder.

"I'll be back tonight. I've left a map in the kitchen in case of an emergency, and there's a sandwich in there for lunch. Take it easy, alright?"

Roxas rolled his eyes, but smiled nonetheless. Axel was worse than a mother at times.

"Of course. Come home safely."

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The blond watched him leaved before slowly returning to his book, his eyes skimming over the words and pages as he flipped through. There was really nothing else he could do. Cleaning was apparently too much work, at least by Axel's standards, and he needed to be careful going outside. He needed to be careful being on his feet in general.

Roxas yawned as he flipped past another page. Boring. What had he been thinking, picking this thing up? He looked up for a moment blankly and let his eyes settled on the pictures over the hearth, smiling when he came upon the picture of Axel's mother. From what the redhead had told him, she was an amazing women. If only he could have met her. Maybe their mothers would have gotten along well.

_Gah! There's nothing to do!_

Roxas shoved the book off the couch and groaned, rolling over until he was facing the back. Maybe a nap would help to pass the time. The blond curled up and shut his eyes, letting his mind wander aimlessly until sleep finally took over. He couldn't remember exactly when; he'd been imagining something about what Axel would look like with all his hair shaved off.

Chuckling lightly, the boy let sleep claim him, embracing the silly little dreams that stemmed from that thought...

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Axel was merrily chipping away at a bothersome rock at the lower half of the mine, whistling to himself faintly. It was dark and dank, but he didn't mind at all. It felt nice to be up and about and have some purpose again. Not that caring for Roxas wasn't fulfilling enough...

He'd never been this thrilled to be back at work. Usually, the mine was just a place he had to be from sun up to sun down in order to earn his meal. But now that he thought about it, it gave him some time to himself, to think about everything with an even head and a mostly quiet space. He loved being around Roxas; the boy was making him more social and outgoing by the minute. And yet this alone time could be equally appealing; it was difficult sometimes, as his moods rose and fell, to tell which one he liked better or more often.

The redhead stopped for a short break, wiping the sweat from his forehead as he leaned against the crumbling rock. Roxas's birthday was coming up soon. Not only was he at a loss for what to give the boy, but Axel also worried. He worried for two reasons; one, that Vexen would try to take his life again before he could come of age. And second, that if Vexen did not succeed, Roxas would return to the castle, to rule as he was always meant to. That part was particularly hard for Axel. No matter which way the situation turned, it felt as though he and Roxas would end up being parted.

_But not forever... _He reminded himself. _Even if he has to leave, he can still come back and visit..._

Axel sighed. He wasn't sure he could live that way. With his lover only returning once and a while. And he couldn't let Roxas suffer that way as well. No one should have to be parted from the one they love, but they also shouldn't have to chose between who they love and what they must do. Was it really right to accept the prince's love so quickly, without giving more thought to the consequences.

_No...I gave myself plenty of time to think... _But could he hurt Roxas by letting him go so casually? Could he himself bear it?

Axel didn't share these worries with Roxas. He couldn't; he couldn't let the boy know any of it. Roxas seemed so happy despite being restricted to rest all day; his smile was somehow brighter and more beautiful to Axel now, knowing that this boy was his. He brushed the topic to the back of his mind firmly, hoping it would stay there. But was it really wise to just wait until the time came?

As he waged this inner war, Axel almost didn't notice a group of miners talking nearby.

"Is it true?"

"What do you think he wants?"

"I haven't got a clue," Terl huffed, crossing his arms with an irritable look. "All I know is he's a strange lookin fellow. Skulking around in a dark cloak...in the light of day, no less!"

Unconsciously, Axel moved closer, wondering who it was they were so rilled about today.

"Somethin ain't right about im!"

"I'll say!"

"About who?" the redhead asked innocently. He winced slightly as Xaldin stomped over to the group, eyebrow furrowing low.

"What're you lazy bums doin standing around?" he demanded, looking harshly at Axel before his gaze swept to Terl.

"I spotted a suspicious character wanderin in the woods this afternoon. Somethin wasn't right about him. Like he had a bad aura or somethin."

Suddenly Axel had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He wanted to brush it off as nothing; it could have just been another merchant pacing through. But something about his bad aura...

The redhead strode over quickly and grabbed his shoulders. "You know which way he was headed?" he asked, as calmly and collectedly as possible. The man scratched his head for a moment, looking up.

"I remember old Bill saying he say him crossing the river about midday. Why?"

"Thanks," was all he got. Without another word, Axel raced for his things and made for the exit, ignoring the calls from the other miners. He knew Xaldin would throttle him for this, but he had to be sure. He was to know that Roxas was safe.

Axel returned to find his house a mess. Everything was turned over, broken, or moved; no space seemed untouched except for the closets. Whatever had happened here looked like it had been a full-out war.

"Roxas?" the redhead called out, his voice echoing in the empty rooms. "Roxas!"

He turned everything over again, searched the whole house, but found no trace of the blond. There was no blood anywhere, but that didn't reassure Axel much. The only clue he had was the door, left wide open to the elements.

But where could they have gone? The forest was vast and wide; it would take him forever to find them. But Axel would; he swore he would. He refused to lose Roxas to anyone.


	16. Chapter 16

Roxas limped through the forest as fast as he could. He had to escape somehow, but everywhere that he looked there were only trees. He didn't recognize anything at all.

It was only when he tripped for the umpteenth time that the boy finally came to a complete stop, whining a little as he lifted himself out of the dirt. He pulled himself up to his knees and looked back down at his ankle. It was throbbing painfully and he could see purple starting to become visible even through the bandage. Roxas shuddered as a gust of cold air then blew past him, and he reached up to rub his arms lightly. It had to be below freezing tonight; he could see his breath on the air. That monster had dragged him out of the house without a cloak and now the sun was had set. He was cold and hungry and had no idea how to get home.

Roxas started suddenly when he heard a strange sound in the distance. It was a weird sound that he couldn't describe, it was so unnatural; but he thought he knew what it meant. It wasn't human in the least. Scrambling slightly, Roxas managed to get himself behind one of the trees just as the monster came out. It was a silverish-white...thing. Roxas shivered as he saw its mouth zip and unzip a few times, its 'head' whipping around as it searched for him.

Somehow, he just knew it was after him.

The blond kept as still as he could, and soon enough, the strange thing left. It moved at times as if it had no spine, billowing in the air like a clothes on a line. But that didn't mean for certain it was weak, or that it couldn't sense him...

Roxas slid down the back of the tree and released a shaky breath. Vexen had sent some new monsters to come after him now. One like that one, without a face, had dragged him all the way out here until he was almost too tired to move. He'd barely managed to escape...

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_"Please," he begged softly, "Please can we stop, just for a moment? I'm tired."_

_The hooded figure ignored him. It merely tightened its hold on his wrist and pulled him forward harshly, causing Roxas to yelp as it put great pressure on his ankle. He could barely match the man's ludicrous pace, and now he was quickly growing exhausted. But that didn't stop him from fighting back. _

_With a growl, the boy tried to pull away from him. "Let me go!" He jerked at his wrist and planted his feet on the ground, but the stranger was still refusing to slow down. He made a strange sound, some variation of a hiss, Roxas thought, and tugged him forward just as before. Desperate, Roxas managed to work his way up beside the thing and shoved it hard to the right, hoping to topple it over. "I said let me go!"_

_Finally, his efforts seemed to work. The hooded figure fell to the side, dragging Roxas with him, and the two of the hit the ground hard. Roxas whimpered slightly at the throbbing, but his plan had worked. The man had temporarily let go of his arm. So before the being could get his bearings, the boy began to crawl away quietly. _

_He hoped he would have gone unnoticed, but then, barely a moment after he began his attempt, there was a sharp pain in his ankle, causing him to cry out in pained surprise and fall back a little. He looked back to see the figure had grabbed his injured ankle and was using it to drag him back, gripping harshly._

_"No! Stop it! Ah!" As he scrambled for something to grab onto, Roxas kicked out his good leg wantonly and was rewarded with a audible thud. The grip on his ankle loosened and he jerked it away quickly, looking back to see the man collapsed in the dirt. The boy stopped there for a moment on his hands and knees, panting hard._

_Did I...?_

_Despite his better instincts to just leave and make a direct run for it, Roxas got slowly and shakily to his feet and crept carefully over to the hooded man, bending slightly to remove the cloak. He wanted to know what sort of man Vexen had sent to-_

_It wasn't a man. Roxas gasped and jumped back slightly, putting a good distance between himself and the...thing. His back hit a tree when he finally stopped, and he looked down at the now lightly twitching creature with growing terror. It was several variations of silver, its face nothing but several slits in what looked like a cylindrical helmet. Its waist area was thin, but the hips were huge. It was human-shaped, in some ways, but it certainly was not human._

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Roxas pulled his knees up against his chest and held them tightly, burying his head in them. He was ashamed to admit he was afraid of that thing. He had no idea where it was now, but now that new thing had come after him, and it was almost worse. It was thin and had no eyes, not even as slits, as well as a creepy zipper for a mouth...

Another cool gust of wind blew past him, and Roxas looked up to see it growing even darker now. It was so late; Axel had to be home by now. He had to be so worried...

Roxas curled even further in on himself to keep warm, scowling down at himself when his stomach gave a loud, needy groan. He should be trying to find his way home now, but it was too painful to walk for long, and he was exhausted. But the blond knew he couldn't fall asleep. It was dangerous to just fall asleep out in the forest. And what if those...things came back? He shuddered to think...

So he sat there for a long while, keeping still and silent apart from trembling in the cold. He even felt a few frozen tears beginning to prick the corners of his eyes.

Oh how he wished he was still home and safe with Axel...

After sometime later (Roxas was surprised to find that he had dosed off again, however briefly) Roxas started when he heard footsteps approaching his spot. He lifted his head cautiously and saw a light drawing closer; a light so bright he had to cover his eyes. It looked like the light of a lantern...

"Oh my. I'm sorry, boy. I didn't know anyone else was out here."

Roxas lowered his hand and looked up, blinking rapidly as the lantern light glared down at him. The voice was male and sounded slightly aged, and as the lantern was lowered down to the ground, Roxas saw that it was a man with short silvery hair and blue-green eyes. He was dressed in traveling clothes and was bent forward slightly at the spine, very much like an old man, but more muscular. The blond blinked briefly before rubbing the semi-dried tears from his eyes.

"No, it's alright. I thought you might be someone else..."

The man looked at him curiously for a moment as he uncurled himself, before asking, "By any chance, are you lost? It isn't safe to be sleeping in these woods with so little on."

Roxas nodded sheepishly, embarrassed he had been caught like this. He probably looked like a fool. But he wasn't about to let this opportunity pass him by.

"Actually, sir, I am. Do you...could you maybe...?"

"Of course!" the older man replied cheerfully, seeming to understand his plight. "I take it you live around here?" The boy nodded again. The silvery-haired man smiled, taking his hand and pulling him to his feet. "I'll help you find your home. No problem. I have a spare cloak you can wear too, if you'd like."

"Yes, please."

Before they could move, however, Roxas winced noticeably when felt his bad leg wobbling beneath him. It didn't seem to want to let him walk very far. The stranger seemed to notice his predicament as well as he shrugged out of the pack he was shouldering, looking at him worriedly.

"You're injured?" Roxas nodded again. "Then it's all the more unwise for you to be out in these woods at night!"

The blond looked down, now very embarrassed. "I-I didn't mean for this to happen."

The man shook his head and passed him a warm, wool cloak from his bag. "Well, no harm done. You can ride on my back for a while, if that would make things easier."

Roxas wanted to protest, but he couldn't really. Not now. He was way beyond caring at this point. Besides, he already proved to this man that he was an idiot. What was the harm in just accepting his help?

He climbed onto the old man's back with amazing ease, and was lifted just as easily. He was surprised, because the old man looked slightly bent and the pack he carried looked heavy. But the stranger didn't complain. He simply asked which direction Roxas thought he lived in, and by vague remembrance of the setting sun's position, the two set off, hopefully in the right direction. Roxas did his best to stay awake, but now he was warm with the cloak over his back and shoulders, making him feel even sleepier than before. He yawned slightly and, without thinking about it, nuzzled the man's shoulder with his head. He heard a chuckle and blushed slightly at his actions, knowing he barely knew this man, but he was far too tired to care.

"Try not to fall asleep on me, boy. If we pass by your home, I won't know it's your home unless you tell me."

The blond nodded slowly, rubbing his eyes. "I'm sorry. I'll try." He would make no promises.

"Thank you for your help, Mr...?"

The man smirked, thought Roxas couldn't have seen it as he drifted off slowly.

"My name is Even."


	17. Chapter 17

Axel ran through the forest, ignoring the chill and the dark as he searched through the night. For once, he hated that the woods were so vast. If he dawdled too long or even went the wrong way, something horrible would happen to Roxas and he couldn't do a single thing about it.

"Roxas!" he called into the night over and over, feeling his hopelessness grow. He had no idea who or what had attacked the boy, and his tracking skills were terrible by most standards. He did find a small footprint in the damp dirt nearby that looked promising, but what if someone else had made it? Was this really the right was to go?

"Roxas, where are you?"

From his place behind the tree, Even sneered at the redhead. He was glad the little brat had fallen asleep, though he could wake up at any minute and blow the whole thing. With that in mind, the old man crept away as silently as possible, allowing the foolish redhead to move on in the opposite direction.

After a short while, Even found a good place to stop and rest. He set the boy down on the ground and sat down beside him, eyeing the boy with disgust.

_You've been a thorn in my side for too long, boy. _He thought viciously, reaching a hand down and placing it over the blond's throat. _If I wanted to, now, I could kill you so easily. _

His grip tightened briefly, but then it slowly slipped away, leaving the pale flesh unmarred. He could stab the boy, choke him, hold him underwater until his struggles stopped, but that would mean his magic would have gone to waste. And all of those methods were much too quick. The boy wouldn't feel the sting of his foolish trust so easily betrayed. Not unless he went through with the plan...

Even pulled out the little fruit from his bag and ran his thumb over the exterior. It was waxy and smooth to the touch; perfectly foreign and yet so enticing. Bewitched properly, the fruit would send the boy into a death-like state, but he would still be barely alive. Through his own frozen eyes, he would watch as Vexen hurt him, defiled him, and then, when his friends came and found him in the morning, cold and 'dead,' the boy would watch helplessly as they buried him alive. Soon enough, he really would die buried there in the ground, but not before he saw his loved ones' pain and suffering; their betrayal as they left him alone in the dark forever. The man grinned wickedly.

It was perfect.

He would deal with those fools individually later. For now...

Even quickly slipped the fruit back into his bag as the prince's eyes fluttered open. He sat up with a groggy sigh, looking at Even wearily, who smiled kindly back at him.

"I thought I should have a rest," he said simply, noting the boy's confusion. "It's been some time, and I'm not as strong as I used to be. I'm sorry if I woke you."

The blond blinked tiredly, shaking his head with a small smile.

"No, it's fine. Please, take all the time you need."

The two sat in silence for a moment, as Roxas finally seemed to wake up and take note of his surroundings. Nothing looked familiar, but he wasn't too surprised. He just hoped Even wasn't taking him even further away from the house by was probably out looking for him now...

Even knew that the time was right. Very deliberately, he opened his bag and ruffled through it loudly, seeing out of the corner of his eye that he'd attracted the boy's attention. He pulled out one strange, star-shaped fruit, careful not to grab the cursed one by mistake, and took a bite eagerly, savoring the flavor. It truly was a strange fruit, but the flavor was juicy and sweet like candy. The perfect thing to lure a child. Slowly, Even looked over at the boy and saw his eyes watching him, shining slightly with curiosity and spiced delicately with hunger. He fumbled for a moment purposefully.

"Oh! Where are my manners? Are you hungry?" He began to reach for the fruit in his bag even as the boy blushed and shook his head.

"No, that's alright! You don't have to give-" Roxas was interrupted by a particularly loud growl from his stomach. He blushed deeper and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, laughing lightly. "Woops. I'm sorry about that."

"Oh, no problem at all," the older man replied, tossing him a star-shaped fruit casually. Roxas turned it over in his hands, feeling the texture for a moment before he lifted it to his face and sniffed. "It doesn't have much of a scent. What is it?"

"You've never heard of the paopu fruit before?" When Roxas shook his head sheepishly, the man continued. "Ah well. It comes from a land far to the east of here; a very tropical land, I've heard. This is a common delicacy there; I'm surprised this kingdom has yet to hear of it."

Roxas took one of the star arms between his fingers and bent it back and forth absently. It had the consistency of jello, almost. "Well, Vexen isn't very fond of new things. The only business he ever discusses with other kingdoms is the business of war, so there isn't much trading to be done. It's a shame really; these look like they'd be popular very quickly. I wish he'd stop being so pig-headed sometimes..."

Even frowned slightly, suppressing a growl, though it went unnoticed as Roxas looked over the fruit. _Go ahead and take a bite of it, you little whelp. _

"It is said that these fruits have a special legend to go with them. If you share it with someone important to you, your destinies will be intertwined forever."

Roxas's eyes widened and he looked away, blushing again. He was far too old to believe in silly little things like that, but he had to admit that the idea was pleasant. If the fruit's legend really were true, he could hold onto a piece and give it to Axel...

The blond shook his head to clear the thought away. Really, that was ridiculous! And what was he doing just looking at the thing? It looked so good, and he was so hungry...

Even smiled at him mischievously. "Do you have someone you would want to share it with?"

Roxas's blush flared in his cheeks and he shook his head vehemently. The older man chuckled. "I know you do. You can't fool these old eyes, boy. I was in love once too."

The blond tried to wave him off, stuttering. "I-It's not that! I just...Well, maybe, but..."

Even laughed again. "It's just a legend, but it would do no harm to wish, would it?"

Roxas paused, thinking about that for a moment. Sure, why not? He'd save a piece for when he found Axel and see if anything came of it. Who knew?

The boy smiled, regarding his companion warmly. "Thank you. I'll give it a try."

"Good. But you have to take a bite soon. If the fruit rots, then it won't work." Roxas nodded and looked down at the fruit in his hand again. He wondered how sweet it was...

Even leaned forward slightly, a little expectantly, as he watched the boy bring the fruit closer to his mouth. He was just about to take a bite when they both heard the soft, familiar sound of a voice in the distance...

The man looked at him with concern. "What's wrong, Roxas?"

The blond looked around for a moment, studying the trees and the gaps beyond. He looked back to Even a moment later. "I could have sworn I heard-"

"It was nothing. Just a bird, I'm sure," Even said quickly, maybe a little too quickly, feeling as though his heart was about to stop. No! He was so close! That blasted redhead couldn't interfere now!

"No," Roxas said softly, a little distracted as he got to his feet. "I'm sure I heard something..."

Even was quick to distract him. He was on his feet beside the boy instantly, steadying him. "You should really sit back down. You don't look at all well." He pushed the boy back down to the ground gently and stooped to pick up the forgotten fruit, brushing if off slightly.

"But I-"

"I said it was nothing!" Even snapped harshly. Roxas gaped at him for a moment, clearly startled, and the old man took a short second to regain himself. He couldn't afford to let his patience slip now.

He offered a small smile. "I'm sorry. But I think I would have heard something too, if it was really there." He placed the fruit back in Roxas's hands and closed his fingers over it. "Please, you look ill. I would feel better if you ate something."

Roxas blinked briefly. He felt fine, but for all he knew, he must have looked a mess. He accepted the paopu graciously, letting his smile slowly return.

"Alright. Thank you." He bit into the paopu eagerly, immediately sighing at the sweet, cool taste. It really was delicious. He looked back up at Even with a pleased smile before taking another bite.

"It's wonderful. I've never had anything this sweet before."

Even smiled maliciously, much to his surprise.

"Good. I'm glad it's to your liking, _my prince_..."

The last part was said harshly, and Roxas's eyes widened as the man before him slowly started to change. Hair grew longer into a silvery blond; wrinkles on the forehead multiplied and spread. Cool, hate-filled eyes looked down at him, and suddenly the voice was one he knew all too well.

"It's time for you to sleep."

It was then that Roxas heard Axel, calling him in the distance. So that was why he recognized that voice! He immediately opened his mouth to call him, when a cold, rough hand cut off the sound. Vexen grabbed his face with his other hand and held him still, ignoring the boy's protesting arms as the tried weakly to push him away. The fruit's spell would be taking effect any moment now...

He smirked wider when he heard Roxas let out a soft groan, and leaned into the boy's ear. "I hope you enjoy the afterlife."

He then backed away. Roxas was about to scream for help, hearing Axel coming even closer, but suddenly he stopped. It felt like his body was freezing in places. His legs trembled for a moment before locking stiffly, knocking him off his feet. He felt dizzy and his breathing slowed as he hit the ground, staring up in fear as the old man stooped over him, watching him slip away.

"You...bastard...what did you...?"

The man only flashed his teeth. "You're far too trusting for your own good. You didn't even suspect it was me."

Roxas growled, reaching a hand to his head as he felt a splitting pain. It came and went quickly, soon replaced by a feeling of utter weightlessness and emptiness. It felt as though he was no longer connected to the world. Roxas watched through glassy eyes, unable to struggle or move at all, as the man above him began to laugh harshly.

_No...no...what's happening? Let me out! _

He was trapped in his own body, able to see everything so clearly and yet unable to move. He felt everything; the grass tickling his feet, the chilling night breeze, everything. But he couldn't do anything but watch and _feel_...

_Why can't I move?...Someone...someone help me! Axel!_


	18. Chapter 18

Vexen looked down at the motionless body triumphantly, seeing that he had finally stopped twitching. The light had completely drained from his eyes, making him look like the very picture of death. The old man bent down and grabbed Roxas roughly by his hair, pulling him up face to face and smirking viciously. He could see faint tear stains still drying on the boy's cheeks, but he wasn't worried. Those would fade soon enough.

"You can hear me, can't you, Roxas?" The blank eyes betrayed no emotion, but he knew that, by nature of the spell, Roxas could still see through them clearly. Vexen smirked. This would be fun.

"I'll take that as a yes. I suppose you'll tell me when to stop." And with that, he pulled Roxas in for a harsh, forceful kiss. He felt no twitch of life, no resistance at all, not even when he quickly shoved his tongue in between those cold lips. They parted easily for him, and he chuckled darkly, running his hand over the boy's cheek and raking his nails along the skin harshly.

Roxas, meanwhile, was screaming inside. Though he felt distant from his own body, unable to move it, he could feel every sensation as if he were alive. In his mind, it was as though he were behind a locked door, but could see through a small window in his mind. He shivered with disgust and fought to find an escape, cried out as the nails dug into his cheek and teeth bit down on his lip. He wanted to stop, push the man away and run, but his body remained still, defenseless against Vexen's advances.

_No! Stop! Vexen, please stop!_ he begged, pounding the door and turning the handle frantically. He cried at feeling so helpless, but the tears and words never made it through._ Stop!_

Minutes later, Vexen pulled away at last and dropped him back to the ground unceremoniously. He was finished with his fun, for now, but that would only be a taste of the boy's torture. No, the worst was still to come.

"Roxas, Roxas, Roxas...You're such a child. You could have easily avoided this whole predicament altogether, but you made this painful for yourself. You could have had a much more peaceful death, with Demyx there to comfort and mourn you. But don't fret." He placed his boot under the prince's cheek and turned it up so that the boy was looking at him. The old man felt suddenly overcome with a surge of power at that, seeing the boy in his rightful place. Under his iron boot, like everyone else.

"I'll let your precious Axel have that honor."

Just at that moment, Vexen heard the redhead calling again, this time much closer in the forest. He smirked a little wider, having no fear of the boy finding them now. He was too late to stop him anyway.

"Ah...right on schedule." He scoffed down at the blond, giving his face one good, harsh kick. "You best wake up, Roxas. It's rude not to greet a guest."

In a few short minutes, Axel stumbled out of the trees clumsily. Upon seeing someone there, he raised his lantern hopefully, but sighed when it was only an old man. As he lowered the light again, he cleared his throat and asked, "Excuse me, sir. Have you seen a kid wandering these woods tonight. He's about this tall," He indicated with his hand, "has blond hair and blue eyes. Seen him?"

The old man chuckled, causing Axel to quirk an eyebrow curiously.

"Have you gone and lost your companion so soon?" He then shook his head with mock concern. "Oh dear, how foolish is young love?"

The redhead blinked for a moment, completely taken off guard. "How did you...?" Vexen gave him a knowing smirk, and Axel's confusion quickly changed to realization and anger. He quickly set down the light and prepared as if for some attack, drawing a small knife from his pocket and holding it forward threateningly. He glared at the old man. "I wouldn't have expected you to come here yourself, you old coward. Vexen, I presume?"

Vexen smiled with mock sweetness and made a short bow. "I am but a humble servant of this country. If there are stubborn vermin that threaten the stability of peace in our fair kingdom, then I must come and deal with the infestation myself."

"Cut the crap, Vexen! Where is he? What have you done with him?"

The old man smiled wider, more wickedly. "He's very close...But I don't think you want to see him. Or rather, he might not want you to see him..now..."

Axel growled. "Where. Is. He?"

Vexen shrugged carelessly and shoved his foot beneath something on the ground behind the bushes. "Wake up, boy. At least look at the man when he's talking to you."

He then kicked harshly, throwing the thing more into the open, and Axel's heart stopped when he saw that it was a body. Panic began to rise in his chest and, completely ignoring Vexen's cruel smirk, he rushed to the side of the body on the ground, only to find his dark suspicions were correct. Roxas lay motionless on the forest floor, his eyes dark but wide, still betraying his earthly pain. They were wide and horrified, making Axel repress the need to gag harshly. His mouth hung open a little, uselessly, and no breath flowed from it. His body was bruised and did not move at all, even as Axel lifted the boy into his arms.

Axel looked to be at a loss for words at first. He touched the face carefully, but urgently, brushing away the dirt and grime as he called out to him.

"Roxas...Roxas, please wake up! Roxas!"

Vexen scoffed. "He can't hear you anymore, boy. I wouldn't waste my breath."

Axel's attention snapped up, his eyes alight with fiery rage.

"What the hell did you do to him?"

"He was tired. I merely helped him fall asleep."

The redhead clutched Roxas to him even tighter, unwilling to believe that he was really dead. No...no it couldn't be true. There wasn't a mark on him. But there was no pulse and no breathing, even as he grabbed a thin wrist and waited for a beat. Nothing. Even when he shook the boy slightly, Axel couldn't see any change. No movement at all.

"Roxas...no..." Axel buried his face in Roxas's neck. He felt the hot tears in his eyes spilling over, and he shut them tight, gritting his teeth at the pain. "No..."

Vexen smirked at the boy's obvious misery. Every cry of Axel's only filled him with more contempt for them and their foolish love. It was so easily broken, and the prince wasn't even truly dead. Little did he know that a very simple thing would cure the prince of his curse. And Vexen was confident he would never find it. Not before Roxas was buried alive, at least.

"Pathetic..."

Then, just as quickly, Vexen watched with surprise as Axel laid the body back down, gently setting him on the grass. He stood slowly, but with purpose, though his face was turned away and Vexen couldn't see his expression. The redhead turned just as slowly, and his eyes were burning with hate; such violent, searing hate. It was a fire that Vexen recognized in himself; it was how he had felt when his land was razed to ashes, and there was nothing left for him in the world.

"You have strength and fire, boy. I sense a great deal of power in you." And it was true. He was foolish, but it wasn't simply a matter of Vexen's spells not affecting him. With the right direction, perhaps the boy could be put to good use...but now it seemed he would not accept. He was too far gone in his silly heartbreak, and the old man could not forgive his interference.

"If you had stayed away from that imbecilic prince, you might have had a chance to join me. But I-"

"SHUT UP!"

Axel lunged for him before he had even finished his thought. Vexen barely managed to dodge unscathed, and he drew back a ways in surprise. The very air seemed to be burning with rage, and the knife was back in the boy's hand, slashing and stabbing and aiming for his heart. Axel moved with inhuman speed and forced the old man to back away defensively, blindly slipping past trees and brush while his attention was focused on avoiding the pointed blade.

"BASTARD! I'LL KILL YOU!"

Vexen drew a thin dagger of his own and parried the attack, finally slipping into a group of trees narrow enough to keep him safe. He caught his breath for a moment as Axel stalked forward, preparing to strike again. With a harsh laugh, Vexen drew a satchel from his cloak and hurled it at the ground; a cloud of dark blue smoke rose up and around him, concealing him.

Axel coughed and backed away slightly, but soon the smoke cleared and the old blond had vanished. A cruel laugh echoed off the trees around him, and the redhead jerked to look every way at once.

"You'll never catch me, fool! Do you really think you can fight me?"

Axel's eyes narrowed and, for a moment, he cleared his head and let his rage subside. He wanted so desperately to murder this man in cold blood, but right now, his emotions were impairing his ability to fight. Pushing the heartbreaking sight of Roxas crumpled lifeless on the ground away, he firmly shook his head and shut his eyes, willing his heartbeat to calm down, even disappear...

The very air seemed to mock him, and little currents of icy wind cut at his flesh, slicing a cheek here, his shirt sleeve there. "What, giving up already?"

Axel growled, but kept his eyes firmly shut, barely even flinching at the pain. This was pathetic magic. Vexen was a coward, attacking him from the dark as he blended with the shadows. He was trying to cow him, have him begging to be spared, and Axel wouldn't do it. He listened to the mocking laugh, the slices of metal on air, and sought for where to strike. A blind move now might only scare Vexen away, and the last thing the redhead wanted was for him to escape scott-free...

A slice by his left bicep. _There!_

Axel's eyes snapped open and he turned hard to his left, aiming the knife low and straight. He was rewarded with a piercing scream and the sound of stumbling, clumsy footsteps. Within moments, Vexen was revealed, scowling, groaning, and bleeding from his right shoulder. He clutched it in a sad attempt to staunch the bleeding, glaring at Axel was utter contempt and loathing.

"You wretch!" he howled, stepping slowly away from the scene. Axel saw him planning to run and lunged forward again.

"Oh no you don't!"

He made a stab for the man's left thigh this time. But at the last second, Vexen moved, and instead, the blow fell more upon his stomach, immediately spurting crimson blood all over. Vexen screamed and grabbed for that wound, falling onto his back on the ground and writhing in agony. Axel stood over him for a moment, emerald eyes cold and unsympathetic.

"You won't kill me!" The old man weakly began to crawl away, and for a moment, Axel was going to stop him. He hated this man so much and wanted to see him die. He probably would die now, with injuries like those, even if he knew healing magic. But Axel didn't want to stain his honor that way; didn't want to turn himself into a cold-blooded killer. Roxas would never have wanted that of him.

He took a step toward Vexen, who recoiled in terror. "Don't come near me!"

Axel scoffed in return. "Now who's pathetic." When he received no other response than a scowl, he hardened his glare.

"Get out. You're not even worth the effort."

He then turned and walked away, leaving the stuttering, angry sorcerer alone.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Axel found Roxas just as he had left him. He knelt beside the limp boy slowly, feeling his heart plummet in his chest at the sight. Tears wouldn't come to his eyes anymore though; he just didn't have any more to give.

"Oh, Roxas..." He scooped the blond into his arms, cradling him protectively against his chest. The pained, glazed eyes staring up at him unnerved him, and the redhead gently lowered their lids. Now it only looked like he was asleep. Just asleep...

Axel shook the wishful thought away and held Roxas's head tenderly, leaning down to plant a soft kiss on the boy's forehead. As his mind became tumultuous as the sea, filling with regrets of could have's and should have's, his love was crying out into a dark world, his eyes now closed and the window cut off from the world. He could no longer see.

And that was how Roxas and Axel waited out the night. It was dark and hopeless for the two of them.


End file.
